Failure Bonuses

AIG in the news again. Hundreds of millions of dollars have to be paid out in three payment for bonuses and retention to employees of the company AIG which has received the largest amount of any financial institution from government bailout money paid for by American tax payers. What kind of financial system you have going that you have to pay bonuses to people who ran your company into the dirt. In most companies an employee would get fired for losing a lot less money than these people getting bonuses lost for their companies.

"Liddy said he had "grave concerns" about the impact on the firm's ability to retain talented staff "if employees believe that their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury." Washington Post."

It would seem that in my uneducated opinion that these people can't be all that talented if they drove your company into the ground requiring hundreds of billions of dollars in tax payer's money to bail you out and keep you in business.

From the start I have felt that these institutions should have been allowed to fail and not have been bailed out in the first place. If we would have did that these institutions that have for only one conceivable motive, greed, would have had to down size, be more modest in their profits, and/or fold. Any institution following in their wake would be much more cautious in their approach of bad lending practices and be more fiscally responsible with everyone's money.

At the very least, the companies that are failing this bad need to have most of their upper executives fired and if they do get hired back, hired back at a rates that reflects their value, not reward them for bankrupting the institutions that they work for. If they were all fired the companies would not be under any contractual obligations to pay people for failing so miserably.

I finally agree with a Republican, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa who made the statement:

"I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little better toward them [AIG executives] is if they follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, 'I am sorry,' and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide," he said. "And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide." "Cedar Rapids, Iowa, radio station WMT"

Pretty much sums up my feelings about the subject.

Catching Up

It's been awhile since I've wrote. There were quite a few things going on since January, many things worthy of writing about. A close friend of mine father died and it seems like I kind of got in a rut after that. My own father died about 13 years ago and I still miss him a lot. We had kind of a rough time during my teenage years and we were just starting to get to where we enjoyed each other's company and respected each other's differences shortly before he died. There is a lesson here for all you that still have your fathers around.

Some of the things Cheney was saying during TV interviews before Obama come into office I was really surprised that Bush didn't pardon him or the rest of his buddies before he left office. Cheney pretty much admitted that he approved the torture of detainees and a lot of the other illegal things that went on while he was in office. Cheney complained publicly that he was pretty upset with Bush not fully pardoning Libby who was involved in disclosing the name of the CIA agent who's husband spoke out against starting the war in Iraq. I was amused when Cheney was in a wheelchair at Obama's inauguration, supposedly from moving boxes. Think about it, here is a guy that was second in command, and arguably maybe first in command, moving his own boxes when he left office. Why do you suppose he was moving his own boxes? Could be that he didn't trust anyone else carrying his boxes because of what was in them? You know that was kind of suspicious when he had a fire in his office too. I never did hear what they figured was the cause of the fire. I bet there is a place somewhere that a lot of papers were burned to keep them from ending up in the wrong hands, and I'm not talking about the hands of would be terrorists.

I also been watching what's been going on with Obama's Administration to see which direction he is going to go and how much he will, or be able to fix from the Bush Administration. While Obama has been doing much to try to fix what was wrong from the Bush Administration, he is still trying to preach that we should be looking forward and not back when it comes to the illegal activities of the Bush Administration. I still feel that this is the wrong decision on Obama's part. We can not go forward without finding what all it is that needs fixing. If we let Bush and his buddies get away with the things they did while in office, future presidents will figure that they have the right to do the very same things as Bush did. At least hope isn't fully dead as many people both in and out of politics are still pushing that we need to investigate what all the Bush Administration done behind closed doors and if there are illegalities charges brought up. We can only hope that Obama will do the right thing in this situation and appoint an independent investigation on this topic. Actually for a lot of this they don't need more investigations because they already have reports from past investigations concluding that Bush took us into war illegally on false information.

There are other things I disagree with the Obama on, but in general I agree on many of the things he's doing. At least Obama is trying a different path instead of the stay the coarse plan that Bush pretty much stuck with. I'm ok with the closing down of the secret prison in Cuba and not sending detainees to countries that do torture. I agree of the process of telling everyone involved that torture is not an option. What did we gain with the Bush Administration's approval of torture? We got some of the worse criminals outside the Bush Administration that we can not try in court because of the torture. I also agree with the gradual getting our troops out of Iraq, a place that we never should have been in the first place.

Maybe this is enough for now to get the creative juices flowing. Don't forget to check back again.

I'm almost afraid to talk about this subject for another 6 days because it still would be enough time for Bush to blanket pardon a lot of his administration. But it really scares me the way Obama talks about he would rather look to the future instead of spending too much time looking back. There is something just wrong about not looking at the past in regards to the Bush Administration. There are just too many questions that need to be brought out into the open, answered and some form of accountability established. I think it would be a big mistake for Obama not to address the wrongs of the last eight years of the Bush Administration

The Bush Administration has from the start refused to hold itself up to any oversight. It has stonewalled Congress with information in the forms of email and video tape, refusing to let people even testify in House hearings, the Bush Administration has been one of the most secretive Administrations in modern times.

We can't begin to right the wrongs if we don't investigate the past well enough to tell what wrongs have been committed or set in motion. As far as making sure that any crime committed would be taken up, there has been numerous reports from Congress itself stating the many laws broken both within the United States and internationally that have been approved by Bush and Cheney and others in the Bush Administration so that there should be no question that there should be trials taking place.

By not addressing the wrongs that took place during the last administration we can not start to get our reputation back in the rest of the world as a country that stands for our high ideals. Being branded as a country that does torture does not make us friends around the world, it helps dangerous organizations recruit members of people that want to stand up against the U.S.

We will not get our reputation back with the rest of the world if we let these issues slide into the past. The American people deserve better than to have to wait until some UN or world commission holds Bush and his Administration accountable for their crimes. To show the rest of the world that we do stand behind our country's high ideals we can not do anything less than hold the Bush Administration accountable for its wrongs against the American people and people of the world. It is embarrassing to be an American until we restore our laws and our honor with the rest of the world.

BS: Bush Stuff

In less than a month Barack Obama will take office.

Trickle down economics don't work. There is a lot on the minds of many Americans as they wait for this historic event. In the meantime there are lots of things to be anxious about. Bush throughout his administrative reign has proved that he and his cronies are dangerous enemies to our constitution. With less then a month left, Bush can still do a lot of lasting damage to our government. For a lame duck Bush has been working double shifts to come up with everything he can to aid big business and hinder the Democrats coming into power on January 20, 2009. It will be as no surprise that he will come up with some really controversial things to do to us right before he leaves office. He is undoubtedly waiting for the last minute to come out with the worse he can do which will be far worse than we will expect. Just like during his presidency the bad news is coming out daily. It's almost to the point where it would be easier to list what all he hasn't done bad for the country than what he has. His government will be known as by the people for big business.

Trickle down economics don't work. This administration has been so bad that Bush won't be able to have a presidential library because all the information will be classified. Someday in the future at some point when they pull the classification of Bush's records and release them to the public, they will first laugh at us for being so gullible to be caught up in all the bs in the first place and then for how spineless we will be by letting him just walk from all his crimes and deceptions just because he was president. Hopefully after they have all had a big laugh, the information will be used to point out everything that can be wrong about an administration so that people can learn from our mistakes.

Trickle down economics don't work. In the past 8 years most businesses have profited by having a Bush Administration, many have had record profits. For the most part blue collared people haven't seen a balanced increase in their quality of life. If not for the crimes against the Constitution, war crimes, lies to go to war, and breaking all kinds of other laws, at least think. Trickle down economics don't work.

Agencies: Crime and the Damage: Healing

I have heard good and bad news coming out of Washington the last few days.

Some of the good news is I have heard that Obama was going to go through all the different agencies of our government, and restore them to what they should be in contrast to the way they were left from the Bush Administration. Many agencies, especially anything having to do with oversight, were completely gutted and broken. One of Bush's ways of making oversight agencies useless was to peel back funding over the years so that their staff was reduced to the point that they could not carry out their tasks required of them to do their intended jobs. Another thing the Bush Administration was good at was to put political appointees in oversight of the agencies, even though they had no scientific background, they would control the public release of reports by picking and choosing what information makes it out of them agencies to the public, this way any information that did not support the administration's agendas or ideologies would not be officially supported by agency reports.

It has been in the news more and more that Bush will possibly/probably pardon himself and most the people in his administration before leaving office in January. This would be totally outrageous. There is also talk from the other side of the isle, the Democrats, that they don't want to dwell in the past, but look to the future. So Democrats aren't concerned with bringing up charges or impeaching the Bush Administration. They talk like if Bush does pardon himself and others in his administration it will be an act of healing for our government. This is all horse pucky. The things the Bush Administration is has done should no way be pardoned with the approval of Congress or Democrats as "healing". Bush and members of his administration all took their positions by swearing an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States, they did not do this. There were numerous issues of broken laws, spying on Americans illegally with the help of telecommunication companies, torture of detainees, giving out the name of a CIA operative, destroying evidence, refusals to comply with subpoenas, capturing people off the streets of other countries without their government's permission, holding people indefinitely without charging them, lieing to gain support for the Iraq war that had nothing to do with 9/11, and the list goes on and on... If Congress allows Bush to pardon any of this, it doesn't make them healers, it makes them accessories. Two years ago when many Democrats were voted into office it was because they promised to reign in the lawlessness of the Bush Administration and bring the war in Iraq to an end, we have been lied to. Now they don't want to do their duties to impeach Bush and Cheney for their illegal actions while in office, this is why they have one of the lowest ratings for congress. Again I say they are not healers, they are accessories to the crimes. If the House members do not act to impeach Bush and Cheney they should all be prosecuted as accessories to the crimes of the Bush Administration. And, believe it or not I tend to classify myself as more of a Democrat than a Republican.

Impeachment: It's Still an Issue

A few days ago I received an Email from an activist group called The Pen. It talked about impeachment and the possibility of Bush pardoning the whole bunch of his click up on the hill including himself. The Email was set up in a form that you could send your comments to your state representatives, your senator and a local paper in your area. I typed in my comments, answered a few questions, included a zip code, and hit send. A couple of days later I received an Email from my U.S. Senator, Herb Kohl, and then I got a call from the paper in Chippewa asking if it was my own words and then tell me it would be included in the letters to the publisher part of the paper within a couple of days. Following is that letter:

Bush and Cheney Should be Impeached

Everyone, not only in our country but around the world, is celebrating the U.S. election of Obama for president, but we shouldn't lose track of why it is that we are so happy to get rid of Bush.

The Bush Administration will be a dark chapter in American history. If we don't impeach Bush and Cheney for their illegal acts while in office I believe that there is a good chance that Bush will pardon everyone involved, including himself, forever closing the chance to ever bring to justice these people who did more harm to America's constitutional rights than all the dictators and communist leaders combined.

It is not the time to bury our heads in the sand and pretend this will never be an issue again, because it will be. If we don't make sure that these people are brought to justice, we guarantee that our rights and freedoms will be assaulted again from the inside, from the very people who take oaths to defend the constitution of the U.S. when they take office.

We've had the elections, so let's stop using the excuse that no one wants to do anything because it will effect the presidential elections. Lack of action on Impeachment and the Iraq war is the reason Congress has such poor ratings. We were promised action when they ran and we elected them, so they need to do their jobs.
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Here's the reply I received from Herb Kohl:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your
views on the current administration. I appreciate hearing from you
and welcome this opportunity to respond to you.

As a means of checks and balances, the Constitution
permits Congress to remove Executive Branch officials from office
if they are found to have committed "treason, bribery, or other high
crimes and misdemeanors." This critical power allows the
Legislative Branch to protect the nation from the abuse of
executive power.

As you may know, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-
OH) introduced H.Res. 1258, 35 articles of impeachment relating
to President Bush, on June 10, 2008. Additionally, Rep. Kucinich
previously introduced H.Res. 799, three articles of impeachment
relating to Vice President Cheney, on April 24, 2007. These
resolutions seek to remove the President and Vice President from
office on the grounds that both of them intentionally deceived
Congress and the American public during the events that led to the
March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The U.S. House possesses the sole power of impeachment.
H.Res. 1258 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on
June 11, 2008, and H.Res. 799 was referred to the same committee
on November 6, 2007. Should the Committee determine that there
are grounds for impeachment, the resolution will be considered by
the full House. A simple majority is required to impeach. In order
for an official to be involuntarily removed from office,
impeachment by the House must be followed by conviction in the
Senate; this requires a two-thirds majority. I will be certain to
keep your thoughts in mind should this matter come before the
Senate.

Again, thank you for contacting me about this very serious
matter. I appreciate having the benefit of your views.

Sincerely,

Herb Kohl
U.S. Senator
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The following are my words: The Northern Politic

People, my fellow Americans, I can not stress this enough. If we don't stand up for our rights and freedoms, well then that Constitution is just what Bush called it, "The constitution is just a piece of paper." If we think of it that way, then we don't very much value the live's of the people, who faught for those rights and the ideals for which they stand, and who paid the ultimate price for those rights and ideals that are spelled out on, "just a piece of paper."

Racism Rears it's Ugly Head in America

November 4th made us feel good as a nation, we elected our first black American as president. This was a time that we were able to reflect on 50 years worth of improved relations between whites and other races in the "Mixing Pot" of America. Now approximately two weeks after the presidential election it seems like many people are showing their dark side and it is not pretty or something to be proud of. It also goes to show just how far we as a nation have to go yet to separate ourselves from our racist past.

Since the presidential elections in America there has been a rash of racial hate crimes across America. Black dummies hanging from trees, graffiti sprawled across communities, websites that people are betting on Obama's assassination dates, property damage for people who show their support for Obama, and other senseless destructive acts across America. What is it that drives people to racism acts of hate because another person's skin is a different color than their own? I would assume that most of these acts are carried out by people who didn't vote for Obama in the elections. It would maybe be another safe assumption that these people haven't spent much time listening to anything Obama has been saying all through the campaign process. I don't think I have only been looking at things through a biased point of view, but I really didn't hear anything from Obama either before or after the election that would indicate that Obama's agenda is going to be lopsided in favor of blacks or other minorities once he takes office.

I have to admit that I am somewhat taken back at the amount of racist acts that have been going on since the elections. I am even more taken back by the apparent lack of discontent by people directed at the last president George Bush. I mean the present administration has trampled the constitution with it's wire tapping practices and spying against American citizens, lied to the American people and congress to start a war in Iraq that had nothing to do with 9/11, trampled human rights and international laws torturing prisoners, endangered CIA operatives and ruined their careers because they expressed views that differed from the administration's, extradited people off streets not only in America, but other foreign sovereign countries without the country's knowledge, held people for undetermined amounts of time with out charges against them or due process, fired prosecutors over their political affiliations, only hired people of certain political affiliations to fill key positions in government, have blatantly flouted breaking laws to further their public and secret agendas, acted under more secretive circumstances than any other administration in American history, obstructed justice by destroying evidence needed by oversight and legal investigations, pardoned criminal buddies, and the list goes on and on. With all these things that we know are true of the past administration, some people are being much more critical of a black man that hasn't even had the chance to show, by his acts or record, of how he's going to run the country. I mean, come on, compared to the record of the past administration is it too much to ask to overlook the color of one's skin, to look at things objectively, and at least give him a chance to see how he's going to run the country?

If these people who are doing these things were really patriotic Americans they would be doing things to help our country move along into the future not dredge up and revive bigotries from the past.

Obama Wins Election

It's been three days since Barack Obama won the presidential election in the U.S.A. I think it's great that the people in United States has come so far as to elect a black man for president. For a country that has been labeled as a mixing pot it has taken a while for this to happen, I for one am not intimidated by the fact that our new president isn't a white man. I think it's about time. Our country has been built by immigrants and people of all colors it's about time that our highest office in the land reflects this. In the past I think we as a people have been pretty hypocritical as we are all immigrants in this land that was taken from the true owners, the American Indian. We have been often called the land of the free, but we have a sorted past for dealing with people who are not white. The American Indian was pushed across their land and eventually put on reservations. Many Chinese helped build the first railroads connecting the west to the east coasts, but they get a small paragraph in history for their accomplishments, the Japanese were rounded up during WWII and placed in concentration camps because powerful white men in power didn't trust them. As recent as after the 9/11 bombings Arabs have been subject to heightened scrutiny and harassment, maybe now we can, as a country, get past the color of a person's skin. To be a really great country we must provide opportunities for all people not just for people of a certain race. I think Barack Obama will be a person that can understand how to deal with these issues without trying to go overboard to correct past injustices or cater to tip the balances in favor of just blacks. Our country has many problems and issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible I hope and pray that he is up to the task, I believe he is. Congratulations Barack Obama.

Barack Obama Clinches Democratic Nomination

As most people probably know, Barack Obama has the Democratic Nomination for the presidential election in the fall. What a historical event the primaries have been, first woman and first black American to run for president. This morning I have read that Obama's first order of business as the Democratic presidential nominee was to instruct the Democratic National Committee to adopt his policy against accepting donations from federal lobbyists or political action committees... Now that is change.

I have great faith that Barack Obama can and will restore the United States' reputation with the rest of the world. I believe that Obama is honest, truthful and sincere when he speaks. I don't envy the work ahead of him when He wins the presidential election in the fall. I think we are all aware of how the Bush administration has politicized every branch and government agency and controlled what information has come out of those agencies, and how our constitutional rights have been trampled. I think it will be years before we are even aware of all the damage the Bush administration has done. With that in mind, I hope that Obama insures the Bush administration is held accountable for it's illegal actions and that any and all perpetrators are brought to justice and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

There is a lot of talk right now about whether Obama should offer Hillery the vice president position on his ticket. On one hand I can see where that might help to bring Hillery's supporters to his side, but on the other hand she is tied into big business more than Obama, and I got the impression during the primaries that she was willing to say about anything to get votes depending on what group she was talking to even if it meant stretching the truth or telling the truth at all. For this reason I personally hope that Barack Obama finds another candidate for his vice president, one that closer shares his political values and ethics. I also think that having Hillery as his vice president and by default having President Clinton involved would give McCain and the Republicans negative fodder to use against Obama in the presidential race this fall. These are my personal opinions though, what do you think?

The Presidential Candidates

While I have not been affiliated with any particular political party, the last few years I have come to realize that I tend to agree with the values of the Democratic party more than the Republican party. There are things I don't like about the Democrats like most of their views on gun control, but it seems, especially the last eight years, that the Republicans are fat cats for fat cats at the expense of people who aren't so fortunate. Republicans don't seem very compassionate of the needs or desires of the common people, they are more pro big business insisting on passing laws that benefit big businesses with the insinuation that the wealth will trickle down to the masses, even though they pretty much know it doesn't. I think that it has been shown again and again that this line of thinking is flawed. Those benefits given big businesses don't give any relief to the masses and just serve to fatten the profit margins of those companies as they lay off more and more people and pay the ones they keep less and even to the point of moving their operations outside the US to take advantage of low wages, poor working conditions and lower environmental regulations. I have been totally put off by the secrecy and illegal activities of our government during the coarse of the Bush Administration that has put America in such a bad light to the rest of the world. With that said, here are my thoughts on the major three presidential candidates as I see them.

John McCain
In his words and actions seems to be pretty much hell bent on continuing the Bush legacy. Wanting to stay in Iraq for the long run no matter what the cost. Loyal to the Republican party's agendas, in other words, except for some minor differences, pretty much more of the same failed policies as we had the last eight years. If Bush is your hero, John is your man. This is a very sober statement given by McCain, "Presidents have to make judgments no matter how popular or unpopular they may be." This mirrors Dick Cheney's statements on why we need to stay in Iraq even though the vast majority of the people would like us out of there. Another comment that he made in regards to the idea of a "League of Democracies", a plan of his to create an organization like the United Nations except for no communists or dictators to have to contend with, McCain says, "It could act where the UN fails to act." Bush never had much regard for the UN either. Age has to be a factor, look at Bush or any other president that has lasted through a couple of terms of president, now imagine starting off with someone that is that old to start with. Just what America needs after eight years of a president that was in denial, a president that is facing senility.

Hillery Clinton
First woman to run for President a historical event. When it comes right down to it, would you want to have Bill Clinton back in the White House as the nation's First Gentleman? Cigars anyone? "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." With this in mind how strong do you think this candidate would be in the fall elections against McCain? Hillery can't resolve issues with her marriage seemingly content to put up with her husband running around as he probably is still beneficial to her goals or aspirations. Hillery has strong support of women, but a couple things has come out again and again. Hillery seems willing to say just about anything to get the nomination, from dodging sniper bullets to claiming that she can win just by sticking around...remember Kennedy's assassination? Finally the last gripes I have about Hillery are I think her campaign has been a lot more negative compared to Obama's, I think her comment about obliterating Iran was pretty scary, I'm really getting tired of hearing her say that she has the popular vote when the only way that is possible is if you count Michigan's results, a ballot that Obama's name wasn't even on the ticket. Now that I have brought up the matter of Michigan, that is another thing that really disturbs me about Hillery. Everyone involved agreed with the decision of not counting Florida and Michigan because they broke the parties rules, but now as that is the only way Hillery has a chance at the nomination, she counts them as she tells everyone she has the populist vote and she is fighting against the party now in demanding that the rules be changed, this kind of reminds me of the kind of thing Bush does and shows me that a vote for Hillery would be a vote for government as usual without regard for the rules.

Barack Obama
Another historic first, first black man to run for government. What an election, first woman and first black man running for president. This election has set the theme for issues about race and gender, something never really having been an issue in this way in the past. Truthfully I haven't looked back on voting records of either of the three candidates, so except for what I have heard in the news, I am pretty much taking the candidates at their word for what they stand for. Listening to the candidates though I like Obama's style. I believe he is fighting a lot less negative campaign and even defending some of what Hillery has said and done for the good of the party. He has had some troubles with things his paster has said, but I don't ever remember Obama appointing the paster his spokes person. The point is I think Obama has been the most refreshing of the candidates, he is believable it doesn't seem like he is hiding things as in that he spoke of his experiments with drugs in his past, he talks of diplomacy and actually talking to opposition leaders in the world that don't agree with our ideals to try to improve conditions and relations instead of rushing in with an army and the threat of force, I think this is why he has even received good comments from leaders in Cuba and Iran. I believe he will restore America's reputation among other countries in the world that we as a nation really need to do, it's a small world and it gets smaller all the time with new technologies. Obama when he responds to accusations he is thoughtful and reacts in a way that seems to show he does not get carried away with emotions in his comments.

So I guess by now you can probably tell who I'm rooting for, but what's your take?