I make no bones of my support for the former Blackwater Worldwide or that of the sixty of so private consulting service companies involved in the Middle East over the course of the last six years. The services and expertise that these firms provide is something that our military establishment was incapable of providing in the post-911 environment. Afterall, the military even with its Special Forces elements are not functional in the area of personal security.
In fact, much of the training and expertise that would have been garnered in the military as lessons learned from the problematic issue of Somolia if put in short order into training for the urban conflict were cut during the massive budget reductions to the military under President Bill Clinton. The fact remains the United States was ill-prepared to combat the urban environment with the tradtional force at its disposal following the intial victory in Iraq.
The answer that the military had at its means, as well as that of the installed Iraqi government was private firms that could offer the command and support in order to secure leaders. These services were vital to the implementation of a new government structure as well as the security of our very own government officials on the ground outside the Green Zone, especially if they had to travel the six or so kilometers to the Ministry of Finance or from one Camp to another within the Capital city. Logisticly, the military simply did not have enough expertise nor enough military police on the ground in order to perform such functions and in fact had the military not admitted such there certainly could have been a greater possibility for higher casualties of military forces performing such rolls. If you remember the Army convoy that was ambushed while transporting supplies and was simply unacapable to respond in force to such an attack.
And yet, these private security firms have been under constant attack by those who have been against the Iraq War from the beginning. No one has been more critical and in frankly biased with very selective liberities taken with the facts than Jeremy Scahill. He has been all over MSNBC in particualar peedling his anti- private security agenda and especially targeted Blackwater only after the incident where seventeen civilians were slain by contractors employed by Blackwater because it was politically hot enough to attract attention to his anti-war cohorts on the left and in the liberal media. This barrage of negative attacks, never highlighted the success of Blackwater, Hart or Armour Security on the ground in Iraq has been no stop since the publication of his book. At no time was Scahill ever set up against an individual on Countdown and other shows with the other side of story. The propaganda, much like the attacks on companies like Hlaiburton as "profiteers" has been never ending since 2004 in the same light the left has attack Dominion Resources here in Virginia and now AIG. They do not single out those who may have been guilty of misconduct or inappropriate actions, but tarnish an entire corporate entity for the actions of individuals.
An example of the portrayal following the incident in Iraq resulting of the deaths of civilians from Blackwater helicopters and ground contractors escorting dignitaries or officials by MSNBC and Scahill purposely withheld the context and backdrop of the incident nor the conditions on the ground in the weeks prior nor the failed ambush attempts along the route in the days leading up to the incident. Scahill neglects to speak to the hightened conditions within all security forces after the March 31, 2004 killing of 4 Blackwater contractors escorting cargo in Fallujah that of course was not reported by the liberal media which had a ripple effect throughout the entire private security world. These four contractors were ambushed by grenade attack when caught in traffic and identified, killed and then dragged through the streets and hung upside down by their legs left dangling from the bridge over the Euphrates. Of course this got massive play on Middle Eastern television, but you would have intially had to go to the internet to get the breaking news of the story and not mainstream media in the US. The reason being the last thing that the left wanted at the time was support being generated by the deaths of Amercians (civilians) over in Iraq. What makes it worse is they do not have the journalistic integrity to speak to the event when addressing the actions of contractors on the ground when responding to the situation later. You also have to underatand that the compound housing the Balckwater contractors as well as others had also come under direct attack in Iraq by insurgents and the contractors were informed by the military (US) that no help could be sent to them and they were on their own in the defense of the compound. Ask yourself what would be going through your mind if in such a situation.
Instead, forgetting the thousands of successful missions, convoys protected, airlift services in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as close security for officials on the ground the company Blackwater has been tarnished by the portrayal by left wing extremists as being "rampantly violent", "murderers", "hired mercenaries" and simply "corrupt". They even portray Blackwater as a firm that was formed under the Bush administration to "profit from the escalation in Iraq", when in fact the company Blackwater USA was formed in 1996 during the Clinton years to provide security training to police, sherriff and private security contractors. It was not until 2002 that Blackwater Security Consulting was formed to focus on the post-911 requirements as a division of Blackwater. Instead the portrayal the the enitire company was formed to profit from the War and because of the founders support in contribution to Bush that Blackwater was simply another Haliburton in Iraq simply to profit from an unjust War.
They fail to even make any admission as to any credibility given by those that were protected by their services, nor have they ever attempted to investigate the other side of the story worldwide. The liberal mainstream also determined without any investigation that Blackwater's role in Hurricane Katrina in protecting New Orleans from looting after hundreds of police abandoned their posts of duty. They focused on armed contractors in the streets providing protection and civil service duties as a negative rather than address the fact that they filled a void left behind by those police that abandoned their responsibility to protect and defend.
The weight of the proganda has weighed heavy on Blackwater as it would any private firm as the liberal media has shaped a view of Blackwater that is based solely in political agenda than fact. The power of such propaganda however has resulted in Blackwater to withdraw from the role it was peforming in Iraq and concentrate on other areas of training like it had pre-911. It has even gone as far as to change its name, now known as XE (Zee) in an effort to rebuild its image.
I have found each and every Blackwater operative I have had the pleasure to meet to be of the highest moral and patriotic character and have always found them to be very respectful and focused-based on their mission.
It is shameful what were are experiencing with the determined demise of Corporations based in the United States by the very same people who contend that they will create jobs in this country. I wonder what company will be set in the crosshairs of the liberal media next once the Blackwater's and the AIG's are in the rearview mirror.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
You May Know a RINO; but How About a VINO?
Lately I have been baffled by the actions of our leaders in Washington as well as Richmond for that matter. I have been thinking as of late that many of these leaders seem to be completely out of touch with the people, but frankly also Virginia history.
I remember growing up learning about the Founding Father generation and the values that served them well in guiding the course of this nation. Many of them of course were Virginians. We all know them well; Washington, Madison, Jefferson, and others like Monroe and the infamous Patrick Henry. There are many more Virginians that swelled the ranks of history that as children we learned of and some of us reveared.
But todays leaders seem very very distant from those that directed our great Commonwealth from its humble beginnings to being one of the most powerful Southern colonies and then later one of the most powerful Southern States in the Union. Why is it that so many of our current leaders stand in direct contrast to those that made our history. Now, our ancestoral leadership were not Gods mind you, nor were they perfect men but there was something very statesman-like about them. I dare say today you cannot find a single "statesman" in Washington these days. Plenty of career politicians, but no statesman.
In terms of Virginia, I think there is something deeper afoot. I believe I can say this with little doubt that being a Virginian IMHO is a blessing. I come from the school of I am "Virginian By The Grace of God" and make no apologies. I have to say that because I am the only one in my family born and raised here in this great Commonwealth. I have plenty of siblings born in places like New Jersey and my father is a Pennsylvania man, but I can tell you there is something different in being from Virginia.
Maybe its the rich education of our identity and Virginia's role in our nations history that touches those that were raised amidst the bossom of her valleys and rivers that draws us back to our past in times of crisis. Afterall, for a long time Virginia was a leader on the national stage, especially politics but have since been relegated to the back hallways of power. Oh, sure there have been some individual success at the national level like say a John Warner-R but even he is no longer sitting at the table. A Chuck Robb and even the historic election of Douglas Wilder, but currently the nation does not appear to be enamored with our leaders as we have seen in the past.
I simply believe in large part it is because our leaders in Washington today simply do not emulate the traditions of character and statesmanship that our ancestoral leaders had resulting in our nations reliance on them and the principles they promoted by way of government.
We are all familia by now with the term RINO (Republican In Name Only) which is usually presented as a negative connotation to Republicans not being "conservative" enough, but lately I am thinking that there simply more VINO's (Virginian's In Name Only) within the Commonwealth. Virginia has witnessed widespread growth throughout the State, especially Northern Virginia, the suburbs of Richmond and toward Virginia Beach that has resulted in relocation by citizens from other regions throughout America.
If you are considering what impact such growth trends have on the State political identity you only have to consider the following;
How many leaders in our Senate and House Delegation in Washington were born and raised in the Commonwealth of Virginia?Thrown in the Executive Mansion as well.
The number will shock you or worse may not even impact you at all.
The answer I believe is (4).
Gov. Tim Kaine-D (St. Paul, MN)
Sen. Jim Webb-D (St. Joesephs, Missouri)
Sen. Mark Warner-D (Indianapolis, Ind)
Eric Cantor-R (Minority Whip) Richmond, Va
Rick Boucher-D (Abingdon, Va)
James Moran-D (Buffalo, NY)
Bobbhy Scott-D (Washington, DC)
Robert Wittman-R (Washington, DC)
Randy Forbes-R (Chesepeake, Va)
Tom Periello- D (Ivy, Va)
Frank Wolf-R (Philly, PA)
Glenn Nye-D (Philly, PA)
Robert Godlatte-R-let me know on this one
Gerry Connoly-D (Boston, MA)
We always here that we are all products of our youth and the environments in which we were raised, so there should be very little surprise that our current leadership on balance in Washington has moved far away from Virginia's historic stands on free speech, taxation, spiritual significance of the Declaration, property rights, government intervention, and frankly the guiding principles of our U.S. Constitution.
There is a line in the great movie "Amistad" where Anthony Hopkins portraying John Q. Adams states that sometimes we have to realize that "who were are IS who WE were".
I remember growing up learning about the Founding Father generation and the values that served them well in guiding the course of this nation. Many of them of course were Virginians. We all know them well; Washington, Madison, Jefferson, and others like Monroe and the infamous Patrick Henry. There are many more Virginians that swelled the ranks of history that as children we learned of and some of us reveared.
But todays leaders seem very very distant from those that directed our great Commonwealth from its humble beginnings to being one of the most powerful Southern colonies and then later one of the most powerful Southern States in the Union. Why is it that so many of our current leaders stand in direct contrast to those that made our history. Now, our ancestoral leadership were not Gods mind you, nor were they perfect men but there was something very statesman-like about them. I dare say today you cannot find a single "statesman" in Washington these days. Plenty of career politicians, but no statesman.
In terms of Virginia, I think there is something deeper afoot. I believe I can say this with little doubt that being a Virginian IMHO is a blessing. I come from the school of I am "Virginian By The Grace of God" and make no apologies. I have to say that because I am the only one in my family born and raised here in this great Commonwealth. I have plenty of siblings born in places like New Jersey and my father is a Pennsylvania man, but I can tell you there is something different in being from Virginia.
Maybe its the rich education of our identity and Virginia's role in our nations history that touches those that were raised amidst the bossom of her valleys and rivers that draws us back to our past in times of crisis. Afterall, for a long time Virginia was a leader on the national stage, especially politics but have since been relegated to the back hallways of power. Oh, sure there have been some individual success at the national level like say a John Warner-R but even he is no longer sitting at the table. A Chuck Robb and even the historic election of Douglas Wilder, but currently the nation does not appear to be enamored with our leaders as we have seen in the past.
I simply believe in large part it is because our leaders in Washington today simply do not emulate the traditions of character and statesmanship that our ancestoral leaders had resulting in our nations reliance on them and the principles they promoted by way of government.
We are all familia by now with the term RINO (Republican In Name Only) which is usually presented as a negative connotation to Republicans not being "conservative" enough, but lately I am thinking that there simply more VINO's (Virginian's In Name Only) within the Commonwealth. Virginia has witnessed widespread growth throughout the State, especially Northern Virginia, the suburbs of Richmond and toward Virginia Beach that has resulted in relocation by citizens from other regions throughout America.
If you are considering what impact such growth trends have on the State political identity you only have to consider the following;
How many leaders in our Senate and House Delegation in Washington were born and raised in the Commonwealth of Virginia?Thrown in the Executive Mansion as well.
The number will shock you or worse may not even impact you at all.
The answer I believe is (4).
Gov. Tim Kaine-D (St. Paul, MN)
Sen. Jim Webb-D (St. Joesephs, Missouri)
Sen. Mark Warner-D (Indianapolis, Ind)
Eric Cantor-R (Minority Whip) Richmond, Va
Rick Boucher-D (Abingdon, Va)
James Moran-D (Buffalo, NY)
Bobbhy Scott-D (Washington, DC)
Robert Wittman-R (Washington, DC)
Randy Forbes-R (Chesepeake, Va)
Tom Periello- D (Ivy, Va)
Frank Wolf-R (Philly, PA)
Glenn Nye-D (Philly, PA)
Robert Godlatte-R-let me know on this one
Gerry Connoly-D (Boston, MA)
We always here that we are all products of our youth and the environments in which we were raised, so there should be very little surprise that our current leadership on balance in Washington has moved far away from Virginia's historic stands on free speech, taxation, spiritual significance of the Declaration, property rights, government intervention, and frankly the guiding principles of our U.S. Constitution.
There is a line in the great movie "Amistad" where Anthony Hopkins portraying John Q. Adams states that sometimes we have to realize that "who were are IS who WE were".
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
160 Families Face Obama's Empty Campaign Promises
Well, it did not take long for Virginia which along with California have significant exposure to the defense industry as well as the active armed forces to experience yet another broken promise from the Obama administration.
Not only in the coming months will Virginians be deploying to the other front against the Taliban, but now some 160 Virginia families will be faced with deployment of their loved ones from Ft. Eustis to Iraq.
Thats right. Iraq. So much for bringing the troops home or limited the exposure of the reserve forces to further overseas deployments.
The first two months of this new adminsitration has been one broken promise after another.
Governance certainly is alot harder than campaign rhethoric isn't it?
At some point, President Obama will have to be accountable for something instead of repeatedly using the excuse that he was left with this bag by the former administration. Here in Virginia, we respect real leadership and not those who seem too easily to blame others when push comes to shove for real hard solutions.
Not only in the coming months will Virginians be deploying to the other front against the Taliban, but now some 160 Virginia families will be faced with deployment of their loved ones from Ft. Eustis to Iraq.
Thats right. Iraq. So much for bringing the troops home or limited the exposure of the reserve forces to further overseas deployments.
The first two months of this new adminsitration has been one broken promise after another.
Governance certainly is alot harder than campaign rhethoric isn't it?
At some point, President Obama will have to be accountable for something instead of repeatedly using the excuse that he was left with this bag by the former administration. Here in Virginia, we respect real leadership and not those who seem too easily to blame others when push comes to shove for real hard solutions.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Obama and the Rise of Network Marketing
If you followed the media coverage surrounding the Obama Campaign in 2008, you may be very familiar with alot of the innovations that were engaged by the campaign as a means of building and fueling the movement.
Early in the Primary, the Obama Campaign engaged Social Media as a vehicle for spreading its message. In the end, Barack Obama had over 200,000 Twitter followers that were granted access to the campaign on a daily basis. Obama's people obviously were behind the messages, but regardless of the author it had the desired effect.
Obama's handlers also created a My Space page and created podcasts called the Obamacast to reach internet savvy voters. The campaign also created a You Tube channel for Obama to send video content coupled with the radio casts of Obamacast. It is fair to say that the marketing and branding of Obama went viral throughout all mediums.
All of these strategies created network-envy by many Network Marketing firms. The example set by Obama Campaign has infleunced the new paradigm of social media in the area of Network Marketing and the ranks are growing and growing fast.
The current economic crisis has caused thousand of middle-aged Americans left without job security. The fear is that if they should lose their job that they may never again be able to re-enter the workforce at the saem level the left. The jobs simply may not be there and there are millions of younger workers entering the market as well. The lessons of job placement that we learned almost twenty years ago may very well have been some of these Americans first exposure to the rhelm of networking.
Fact is we are all in Network Marketing. We recommend movies, food finds, tech, cell phones, etc all the time to our friends and co-workers. These very well may have been direct one on one in the past, but today we have Facebook, Twitter, My Space, LinkedIn, Digg, and now Google Friends Connect that reach hundreds if not thousands of friends where we can spread our opinions. Of course, we also have Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad etc for blogging as well which also creates a network of like blogs. For example, this blog belongs to a community of political blogs known as Blognetnews.com.
The movement filling the ranks of Network Marketing is currently one of the largest the industry has experienced. These companies have had a track record of excelling during economic downturns and many Americans are leveraging the lesson of the Obama Campaign and using the opportunity to position themselves for the future.
Network Marketing or MLM has been afforded one of those great little opportunities to undergo a facelift of sorts as it has modernized and not only levraged the lessons of the campaign but also the technology that drove the Obama Campaign to just market penetration. It has opened a window to connectivity and the power of interaction and relationship like no other.
You have thousands of Obama volunteers who have remained connected beginning to move into the business of Networking, whether via the internet or with some of the most reputable firms in the industry. Even in the midst of uncertain times, you will find public companies like Tupperware (TUP), Herbalife (HLF), Avon and Nuskin (NUS) continuing to thrive as their ranks grow. In fact, Warren Buffet's firm owns the network marketing company Pampered Chef. One important aspect also is the growth overseas that the popular Obama campaign has ignited throughout the world. Places like Europe and the Far East are witnessing tremendous growth in all catagories within the Network Marketing community.
The question is really why? We are programmed to think that during such economic times as these and the fear that it often creates that people would be less willing to enter a new enterprise or endeavor, but the numbers simply just are not bearing that out.
There is a revolution it seems taking root with regard to this model. People are not as confident in the old brick and mortar, retail manufacturing model of the last forty years now that they are witnessing major companies like Circuit City and others declaring bankruptcy resulting in 30,000 jobs nationwide being lost. We have witnessed Banking and Insurance companies fail in the last four months and people are asking just when the other shoe is going to drop and whether it may be their industry.
Obama's election certainly may have been historical in November, but the means by which his campaign implemented could just be revolutionizing an entire industry that many over the years have not been willing to embrace wholeheartedly.
More to follow.
Early in the Primary, the Obama Campaign engaged Social Media as a vehicle for spreading its message. In the end, Barack Obama had over 200,000 Twitter followers that were granted access to the campaign on a daily basis. Obama's people obviously were behind the messages, but regardless of the author it had the desired effect.
Obama's handlers also created a My Space page and created podcasts called the Obamacast to reach internet savvy voters. The campaign also created a You Tube channel for Obama to send video content coupled with the radio casts of Obamacast. It is fair to say that the marketing and branding of Obama went viral throughout all mediums.
All of these strategies created network-envy by many Network Marketing firms. The example set by Obama Campaign has infleunced the new paradigm of social media in the area of Network Marketing and the ranks are growing and growing fast.
The current economic crisis has caused thousand of middle-aged Americans left without job security. The fear is that if they should lose their job that they may never again be able to re-enter the workforce at the saem level the left. The jobs simply may not be there and there are millions of younger workers entering the market as well. The lessons of job placement that we learned almost twenty years ago may very well have been some of these Americans first exposure to the rhelm of networking.
Fact is we are all in Network Marketing. We recommend movies, food finds, tech, cell phones, etc all the time to our friends and co-workers. These very well may have been direct one on one in the past, but today we have Facebook, Twitter, My Space, LinkedIn, Digg, and now Google Friends Connect that reach hundreds if not thousands of friends where we can spread our opinions. Of course, we also have Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad etc for blogging as well which also creates a network of like blogs. For example, this blog belongs to a community of political blogs known as Blognetnews.com.
The movement filling the ranks of Network Marketing is currently one of the largest the industry has experienced. These companies have had a track record of excelling during economic downturns and many Americans are leveraging the lesson of the Obama Campaign and using the opportunity to position themselves for the future.
Network Marketing or MLM has been afforded one of those great little opportunities to undergo a facelift of sorts as it has modernized and not only levraged the lessons of the campaign but also the technology that drove the Obama Campaign to just market penetration. It has opened a window to connectivity and the power of interaction and relationship like no other.
You have thousands of Obama volunteers who have remained connected beginning to move into the business of Networking, whether via the internet or with some of the most reputable firms in the industry. Even in the midst of uncertain times, you will find public companies like Tupperware (TUP), Herbalife (HLF), Avon and Nuskin (NUS) continuing to thrive as their ranks grow. In fact, Warren Buffet's firm owns the network marketing company Pampered Chef. One important aspect also is the growth overseas that the popular Obama campaign has ignited throughout the world. Places like Europe and the Far East are witnessing tremendous growth in all catagories within the Network Marketing community.
The question is really why? We are programmed to think that during such economic times as these and the fear that it often creates that people would be less willing to enter a new enterprise or endeavor, but the numbers simply just are not bearing that out.
There is a revolution it seems taking root with regard to this model. People are not as confident in the old brick and mortar, retail manufacturing model of the last forty years now that they are witnessing major companies like Circuit City and others declaring bankruptcy resulting in 30,000 jobs nationwide being lost. We have witnessed Banking and Insurance companies fail in the last four months and people are asking just when the other shoe is going to drop and whether it may be their industry.
Obama's election certainly may have been historical in November, but the means by which his campaign implemented could just be revolutionizing an entire industry that many over the years have not been willing to embrace wholeheartedly.
More to follow.
Keith Olbermann: Man of the Past
Keith Olbermann is either the modern version of the lonely traveler given his career path of being affiliated with every network from CNN, ESPN(ABC), FOX and now of course MSNBC or simply has a knack for rubbing folks he works with the wrong way. I suspect given his platitudes its the latter.
It is apparent to me that Countdown is faced with an anchor who shaped a program by being the antagonist of George Bush and the Republican Administration in general and now that those folks have left town, Olbermann is faced with virtually nothing but living in the past.
Question for Mr. Olbermann. Why is it exactly if the premise was to remind Americans of the sacrifices being made on the ground in Iraq by American troops have you stopped your counter of lives lost in Iraq or even continued with the number of days since victory was declared by President Bush? Why if it was not simply a political ploy have you stopped?
Why is it you saw fit not to even bother conering the Iraqi elections? Something if we recall Mr. Olbermann advocated would never happen peacefully during the period of the Surge in Iraq.
Instead, Mr. Olbermann has moved on to what kind of topics? Oh weel, Sarah Palin's daughter and her baby. It kinda makes you think that Olbermann has a rear view mirror attached to his forehead and is constantly seeing things not from the present view but from a dynamic that was shifted away from with Obama's election.
Its as if Olbermann is man without a country. He really has no one other than Bill O'Reilly or maybe Rush Limbaugh to cast his antagonist sword upon. He certainly would not do so against such deserving folks as Charlie Rangel, Barney Franks, Chris Dodd, or any of the cabinet members that have embarrassed the President. Well, except the former Commerce selection who removed himself from consideration and was fodder for Olbermann but he never said a peep about Bill Richardson the first Commerce selection.
First the content dries up and then the ratings follow.
Focusing your show on Sarah Palin and other GOP likelies for 2012 is rather ridiculous given all that we are experiencing today within the nation, but of course when you have no solutions other than shutting down GITMO as the poster policy for fighting the War on Terrorism and simply want at every turn to rehash torture the medium becomes rather predictable and boring.
Seriously, I wonder if Countdown will last or simply be replaced by another format in the coming year. Maddow has to be kicking Olbermann's hind parts in the ratings. Olbermann is living in the past but then I wonder what is left for the guy who seems to have burned bridges throughout his career.
It is apparent to me that Countdown is faced with an anchor who shaped a program by being the antagonist of George Bush and the Republican Administration in general and now that those folks have left town, Olbermann is faced with virtually nothing but living in the past.
Question for Mr. Olbermann. Why is it exactly if the premise was to remind Americans of the sacrifices being made on the ground in Iraq by American troops have you stopped your counter of lives lost in Iraq or even continued with the number of days since victory was declared by President Bush? Why if it was not simply a political ploy have you stopped?
Why is it you saw fit not to even bother conering the Iraqi elections? Something if we recall Mr. Olbermann advocated would never happen peacefully during the period of the Surge in Iraq.
Instead, Mr. Olbermann has moved on to what kind of topics? Oh weel, Sarah Palin's daughter and her baby. It kinda makes you think that Olbermann has a rear view mirror attached to his forehead and is constantly seeing things not from the present view but from a dynamic that was shifted away from with Obama's election.
Its as if Olbermann is man without a country. He really has no one other than Bill O'Reilly or maybe Rush Limbaugh to cast his antagonist sword upon. He certainly would not do so against such deserving folks as Charlie Rangel, Barney Franks, Chris Dodd, or any of the cabinet members that have embarrassed the President. Well, except the former Commerce selection who removed himself from consideration and was fodder for Olbermann but he never said a peep about Bill Richardson the first Commerce selection.
First the content dries up and then the ratings follow.
Focusing your show on Sarah Palin and other GOP likelies for 2012 is rather ridiculous given all that we are experiencing today within the nation, but of course when you have no solutions other than shutting down GITMO as the poster policy for fighting the War on Terrorism and simply want at every turn to rehash torture the medium becomes rather predictable and boring.
Seriously, I wonder if Countdown will last or simply be replaced by another format in the coming year. Maddow has to be kicking Olbermann's hind parts in the ratings. Olbermann is living in the past but then I wonder what is left for the guy who seems to have burned bridges throughout his career.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Your Government at Work?
Politics aside, the manner in which our government is performing during this crisis is a travesty. Washington has forgotten about the People. Calling for transparency is not the same thing as demanding transparency.
The Bush administration was highly criticized, and rightfully so at times, for its disregard for the process of concensus or even open dialogue with the manner in which it was leading and yet not in less than a month we have a Congress controlled by those who were the ones throwing out those targeted criticisms behaving like school kids on the playground who had their lunch money taken.
We are not talking about just any appropriations bill. We are talking 780+ billion dollars, that by all accounts will be considerably higher given alot of the items in it will not simply be funding with just one round of funding.
First Lady Michelle Obama once was blasted for making the comment that "this is the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country" back during the campaign in 2008.
Well Mrs. Obama:
I am proud of my country for electing your husband President.
I am proud of my country for having a woman selected as a running mate, again
I am proud of my country for not permitting another domestic terrorist attack since 9/11
I am proud of my country for its efforts to combat disease in the world, especially Africa
I am proud of my country for coming to the realization concerning dependence on foriegn oil
I am proud of my country for respecting States Rights
I am proud of my country for its resolve in the War on Terror
I am proud of my country for its part in bringing free Iraqi Elections (even if not covered by the mainstream media)
I am proud of my country for believing in the importance of community
I am proud of my country and its military families who sacrifice on our behalf
Never in my adult life have I ever questioned my love for this country or love for what this country stands for regardless of who or what Party controlled the White House until now.
I am ashamed of Washington. I am ashamed with what Washington has come to represent. This has become more about Democrats or Republicans and not about the the millions of Americans who stand in the shadows and whose future is at stake.
While I certainly do not fault President Obama for the actions of his Party in Congress, I can't help but wonder if he is not feeling like the warden trying to get control of the inmates running the asylum in Washington.
Obama arrived with great promise to Washington, but I fear that his own Party may do more to undermine a legacy that has yet to be realized because of its own inability to follow his lead and example.
The Bush administration was highly criticized, and rightfully so at times, for its disregard for the process of concensus or even open dialogue with the manner in which it was leading and yet not in less than a month we have a Congress controlled by those who were the ones throwing out those targeted criticisms behaving like school kids on the playground who had their lunch money taken.
We are not talking about just any appropriations bill. We are talking 780+ billion dollars, that by all accounts will be considerably higher given alot of the items in it will not simply be funding with just one round of funding.
First Lady Michelle Obama once was blasted for making the comment that "this is the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country" back during the campaign in 2008.
Well Mrs. Obama:
I am proud of my country for electing your husband President.
I am proud of my country for having a woman selected as a running mate, again
I am proud of my country for not permitting another domestic terrorist attack since 9/11
I am proud of my country for its efforts to combat disease in the world, especially Africa
I am proud of my country for coming to the realization concerning dependence on foriegn oil
I am proud of my country for respecting States Rights
I am proud of my country for its resolve in the War on Terror
I am proud of my country for its part in bringing free Iraqi Elections (even if not covered by the mainstream media)
I am proud of my country for believing in the importance of community
I am proud of my country and its military families who sacrifice on our behalf
Never in my adult life have I ever questioned my love for this country or love for what this country stands for regardless of who or what Party controlled the White House until now.
I am ashamed of Washington. I am ashamed with what Washington has come to represent. This has become more about Democrats or Republicans and not about the the millions of Americans who stand in the shadows and whose future is at stake.
While I certainly do not fault President Obama for the actions of his Party in Congress, I can't help but wonder if he is not feeling like the warden trying to get control of the inmates running the asylum in Washington.
Obama arrived with great promise to Washington, but I fear that his own Party may do more to undermine a legacy that has yet to be realized because of its own inability to follow his lead and example.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Shameful Time in American History
The promise delivered in November and joys of progress from a social perspective has faded amidst the reality of Congressional politics and a clash of economic theories.
Its shameful. There is no other word to describe the situation in Washington. Those of us who are children of those of the Greatest Generation and those that lived through the Great Depression should be ashamed at what we have allowed to transpire in Washington and what many there would have our nation transform into.
It would be amusing if it were not tragic the way in which these Congressman have levied attack upon the business community and capatalism in general and act as if they have not been party to it all in the first place.
Congress, of course, is the legislative arm of this democracy and unless any of these business executives actually violated the law then how about Congress shut up and get on with the doing the peoples business. Congress granted bailout money with ZERO strings and now act as if they were not responsible. Congress has been the constant enabler of this crisis for the last five years and ignored the signs and the testimony brought forth before it regarding the warning signs.
Remember when Congress was warned of Fannie and Freddie back in 2002? All the players are still there folks and now act as if they were not copable in any of the consequences to the economy and housing in general. Fact is, they still remain apologists for these institutions in the face of complete failure.
Congress wants to play games with business execs salaries and lifestyles, but I wonder are they going to return all the money that they have contributed to them over the years? Smoke and mirrors folks. Congress is making those CEO's whose companies have filed bankruptcy, the Circuit City's, the S&K's, or Linens & Things out to be good guys because they did not get government bailout money and yet the reason behind the Banking community dipping into tax payer money is a direct result in the failure of government.
Government is not involved in the retail, restaurant and many other industries directly, but it IS INVOLVED with Banking. Banks are so closely aligned with government that they trade its debt. Banks are regulated by the government more so than any other industry save maybe the insurance industry. In short they are symbiotic of the problem. The people causing the economic crisis are the ones telling us they know how to fix it.
Instead of telling the nation how or how much it is going to take to restart the economy, these officials want to call out business professionals for earning extravagent salaries. So whats changed? These CEO's come from the same schools, the same backgrounds as many of these Congressman and have worked their way up the Corporate ladder for decades and all along everyone accepted the conditions of the free market with regard to compensation. Where was the outrage in years past?
The result of having the government step in to take control of pay and compensation is to completely undermine the notion that you Graduate Schools are further neccessary. Afterall, why to we need the Wharton School of Business or other Ivy league programs if the government is going to be granted to powers to dictate compensation levels. What ever happened to performance?
Some of these Banks that opted for the bailout had some really profitable units and divisions. Are the workers of those units not to be compensated for their efforts because collectively the whole was forced to accept bailout money. Remember, did not some banks get funds they did not ask for?
It seems to me we give Congress our tax dollars every year and they never manage to spend it properly and yet continue to vote themselves pay raises. Heck some of these guys do not even pay taxes. Could you imagine if the public demanded the kind of oversight that these Congressman suddenly are demanding, and yet never put into the bailout particulars last Fall.
Are these company Executives scoundrels? Maybe. But the government once again failed to provide oversight and now want to cry foul. Sound familiar? They are using the outrage of bonus money not paid to the CEO's but to the employees at all levels of the company as a soap bax against the free market.
Hey Congress, just think about those bonus payouts as a stimulus check to those folks. maybe they will go out and spend some money in the economy. Buy a new car or buy a new home. Whats the difference; its OUR money anyway and not yours and is no different than what you have planned in the current stimulus bill.
If these CEO's broke any laws, by all means prosecute them but Congressional grandstanding is shameful.
Folks, we have a government in place today that does not subscribe to business cycles and thinks that it can create a system where there will never be recessions or even a depression. When in fact the solutions they offer to prevent these cycles is something that takes us further and further away from what we know as the American System. Our nation is imperfect as are our business cycles, but the solution that they are creating in Washington makes us look less like the America our fathers defended in World War II and more like those nations we opposed.
We are entering down a path that makes it very hard to look at anyone over 75 in the eye without a level of shame.
Its shameful. There is no other word to describe the situation in Washington. Those of us who are children of those of the Greatest Generation and those that lived through the Great Depression should be ashamed at what we have allowed to transpire in Washington and what many there would have our nation transform into.
It would be amusing if it were not tragic the way in which these Congressman have levied attack upon the business community and capatalism in general and act as if they have not been party to it all in the first place.
Congress, of course, is the legislative arm of this democracy and unless any of these business executives actually violated the law then how about Congress shut up and get on with the doing the peoples business. Congress granted bailout money with ZERO strings and now act as if they were not responsible. Congress has been the constant enabler of this crisis for the last five years and ignored the signs and the testimony brought forth before it regarding the warning signs.
Remember when Congress was warned of Fannie and Freddie back in 2002? All the players are still there folks and now act as if they were not copable in any of the consequences to the economy and housing in general. Fact is, they still remain apologists for these institutions in the face of complete failure.
Congress wants to play games with business execs salaries and lifestyles, but I wonder are they going to return all the money that they have contributed to them over the years? Smoke and mirrors folks. Congress is making those CEO's whose companies have filed bankruptcy, the Circuit City's, the S&K's, or Linens & Things out to be good guys because they did not get government bailout money and yet the reason behind the Banking community dipping into tax payer money is a direct result in the failure of government.
Government is not involved in the retail, restaurant and many other industries directly, but it IS INVOLVED with Banking. Banks are so closely aligned with government that they trade its debt. Banks are regulated by the government more so than any other industry save maybe the insurance industry. In short they are symbiotic of the problem. The people causing the economic crisis are the ones telling us they know how to fix it.
Instead of telling the nation how or how much it is going to take to restart the economy, these officials want to call out business professionals for earning extravagent salaries. So whats changed? These CEO's come from the same schools, the same backgrounds as many of these Congressman and have worked their way up the Corporate ladder for decades and all along everyone accepted the conditions of the free market with regard to compensation. Where was the outrage in years past?
The result of having the government step in to take control of pay and compensation is to completely undermine the notion that you Graduate Schools are further neccessary. Afterall, why to we need the Wharton School of Business or other Ivy league programs if the government is going to be granted to powers to dictate compensation levels. What ever happened to performance?
Some of these Banks that opted for the bailout had some really profitable units and divisions. Are the workers of those units not to be compensated for their efforts because collectively the whole was forced to accept bailout money. Remember, did not some banks get funds they did not ask for?
It seems to me we give Congress our tax dollars every year and they never manage to spend it properly and yet continue to vote themselves pay raises. Heck some of these guys do not even pay taxes. Could you imagine if the public demanded the kind of oversight that these Congressman suddenly are demanding, and yet never put into the bailout particulars last Fall.
Are these company Executives scoundrels? Maybe. But the government once again failed to provide oversight and now want to cry foul. Sound familiar? They are using the outrage of bonus money not paid to the CEO's but to the employees at all levels of the company as a soap bax against the free market.
Hey Congress, just think about those bonus payouts as a stimulus check to those folks. maybe they will go out and spend some money in the economy. Buy a new car or buy a new home. Whats the difference; its OUR money anyway and not yours and is no different than what you have planned in the current stimulus bill.
If these CEO's broke any laws, by all means prosecute them but Congressional grandstanding is shameful.
Folks, we have a government in place today that does not subscribe to business cycles and thinks that it can create a system where there will never be recessions or even a depression. When in fact the solutions they offer to prevent these cycles is something that takes us further and further away from what we know as the American System. Our nation is imperfect as are our business cycles, but the solution that they are creating in Washington makes us look less like the America our fathers defended in World War II and more like those nations we opposed.
We are entering down a path that makes it very hard to look at anyone over 75 in the eye without a level of shame.
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