Something funny is the craziness

I admit, I haven't been following Madoff too closely... but even understanding the ridiculous amount he's accused of taking from his clients... this testimony from whistle blower Harry Markopolos is hilarious... watch the whole thing... but it's around 40 seconds where it gets good. Like the reason why we posted the "Drunk and a Priest", sometimes, in these times, we just have to laugh.

These banks are something else

Wells Fargo issued a press release yesterday in response to an Associated Press report about a company trip to Las Vegas. You can find the press release here. Paragraph 3 states:

The Associated Press story also misleads readers by implying Wells Fargo used the government’s investment to pay for these events. As we’ve said before, we’ve used the government’s investment to lend to creditworthy customers and to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

All I'm going to say is, this reminds me of when my co-worker told me that her cousin needed to borrow some money. While he had the $150 or so to buy the X-box or Game Cube or whatever from his friend, he didn't have money to put gas in his car, or buy his mother's birthday present. And her birthday was that very day, and he was supposed to be taking her out to dinner. I said WTF!?!?!? In these times, and any other when the money is tight, it's about making tough decisions. You can't have it all. So, maybe he doesn't get the game system. But don't act like you are truly broke.

I say the same thing to Wells Fargo - what do you mean you didn't use the taxpayer money. You have to make the tough decisions. Either you needed our money, or you were okay and can take the trip. But you can't have the trip and say you need our money too. Maybe literally, you didn't use the money from the government, but if you wouldn't have booked the trip (and paid several other things like bonuses) would you have needed the government money - or at least as much?

It's my understanding that Wells is actually going to lose money from cancelling the trip at this late date, and that's a shame. And Las Vegas is going to lose money too, which isn't good b/c I am trying to go later in the year and I want the casinos to have some money to give me. But back to the topic at hand - the trip shouldn't have been booked, and the fact that they try to differentiate the money pots is insulting.

Besides the PR issue, I would think someone would see some legal or ethical issues with this. I hope President O and the team can get some arms around this.

The proper way to abandon a baby

Various news sources are reporting that a young couple in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, has been charged with child neglect after abandoning their child at a fire station. After reading the headlines and lead to the story, I was confused because I thought S.C. must have a safe law that allows people to abandon infants at the hospital or fire station. Well, they do, but because the parents did not ensure the child was safe before they left, they have been charged. Apparently they left the child in only a towel in 30 degree weather. When the baby was found, it's body temperature was only 88 degrees.

So, I understand the concern and am thankful the baby was found alive. I wonder, though, about how much and how well the law about abandoning babies is communicated in terms of what is required of the persons leaving the child. (I doubt if people are using this route, that they want to stick around.) I mean they didn't put the baby in a bathroom at a gas station or in the trash somewhere. I am just saying, it seems they made an effort to do the right thing. They didn't do it right, but the effort was there. I just hope their arrests and charges do not deter people from "doing the right thing" in the event that some other young couple decides they don't want or can't take care of a baby appropriately. Just FYI, the father of the child is 21, I believe, and the mother is now 17, but was 16 at the time of the abandonment. I do believe in other outlets like adoption, but like adoption I'd guess this is a tough decision to make for the parents.

Apparently some people are above the law

Okay, so it's really nothing new... some people are above the law and we know it, but check out this recent article about a Jackson County, Missouri establishing its first code of ethics... Here are the the highlights:
From The Examiner - The code of ethics will "govern all county business... The order, signed by Executive Mike Sanders, will establish guidelines for county employees." But here comes the interesting part -

"The code will not cover county legislators or other elected county officials.
However, on Monday legislators decided to have staff draft an ordinance that
gives their stamp of approval to the document."

Hmmm. Does that sound right to you? Let's be glad they support it though ; )

An update to: Charlotte, NC teachers reprimanded for web content...

...from the Charlotte Observer "Teachers and Facebook: Privacy vs. standards." What should we think? Are teachers held to a higher standard? Should they be? Are the sexual poses okay? What about the comments about the students?

Charlotte, NC teachers reprimanded for web content

Again - Social Networkers: Beware. Some Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) teachers reportedly (News 14 Carolina article here) had some images and content on their Facebook pages that some parents and school board members thought was inappropriate - stuff like "I hate my students" and "I work in the ghetto," and images of drinking or partying. Of course your opinion of what's appropriate and what's not is subjective, but some people are working the images and comments into a clause that allows teachers to be punished and/or terminated for unethical conduct. I'd be upset as a parent, but should these teachers' pages be irrelevant and untouchable by the school board? Do the teachers have an obligation to not post these things.... or just to make sure no parent, student or administrator sees them? Or should we just not care - it's just personal? Does the fact that because they work with children mean that we are not allowed to know that they party... or like some of the rest of us, don't like their jobs or the people they work with?

This isn't the first time we've talked about this kind of thing here - Social networkers, beware.

There are cameras EVERYWHERE!

Police officer in Rossville, Georgia caught behind local business with his pants down... he was not alone. To see the news report click here.

Guess it's not Socialism when you give to the rich

Now hear this. With the economy in trouble, the government (taxpayers) gave $700,000,000,000.00 (yes 700 Billion) to Wall Street banks to "re-energize" the economy. Note that $70,000,000,000.00 (yes 70 Billion) is going to be used pay bonuses to the people who caused the problem in the first place. NICE JOB! WAY TO GO!

Seems that some people, Repubs, think its OK to spread the wealth upwards to the 1% who already has most of the money. Guess it's not Socialism when you give to the rich; only when you give to the poor.

At least that's the answer you get when the rich make the rules. Click here to read: The Government Bailout: Adding Insult to Injury from AOL Money & Finance

BB

You choose: Lap dance or care for your child

According to a recent report, a South Carolina man left his infant child unattended in his car in the parking lot of a strip club. While he said he only went inside to get a cell phone from his dancer wife, and didn't want to disrupt the sleeping child, police found him smoking a cigarette and receiving a lap dance. According to the man and his wife who took custody of the child after the father was arrested, it is all a big misunderstanding and a mistake. Read one article about the incident here.

Trickle up works pretty good

This is still going around:
Click here: http://wizbangblue.com/2008/09/28/failed-bank-wamu-pays-ceo-18-million-for-just-three-weeks-of-work.php

$18 MILLION FOR 3 WEEKS WORK

This is the guy that I spoke about. Trickle up works pretty good. Too bad trickle down doesn't work. There are many others as well. The CEO of General Motors makes $65 million per year and they are losing money. The CEO of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Investment Bank got a $22 million bonus last year and got $230 million in bonuses over the last 5 years. You see all this money the government is replacing is not lost. Lost means behind your car seat or between the cushions in your couch or accidentally dropped in the tall grass on the way to soccer practice. Or up north, dropped in the deep snow. This money is not lost. The fat cats REALLY got the money. Now we, the tax payers, get to pay it back.

THE REPUBLICANS HAVE REALLY SCREWED THIS ONE UP! ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE!!!!!

BB

Technology advancements - a blessing or means to a curse?

To follow up on "Social networkers, beware", here's a tale of teenagers in separate incidences who are in trouble at school, and some with the law, for sending inappropriate images of themselves, by email and cell phone. The charges for one girl could include her having to register as a sexual offender - that's a lifetime stigma. And once you are on the a sex offender list, the reason why you had to initially register becomes lost. You are just a sex offender with the restrictions and discriminations associated with it. But, more in line with my earlier Beware post, you just don't know where these images may end up... once you send those things to other folks, you lose control of the images of yourself. The ABC news article discusses a boy who posted nude or nearly nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend online. I bet that wasn't what she had planned when she sent them to him - but that was before she broke up with him of course.

But I may be wrong, it may not be that these young people don't understand the possible repercussions, it might be that they just don't care. Should they care?

Means to a curse? Check out this article about how false and/or expunged convictions are making their way into background checks and spoiling people's chances at housing and employment. Database sharing and mining is causing information that has once been removed to pop up again, and it's ruining some people's lives.

St. Lucie County firefighter takes foot

To read more about firefighter taking foot click here.

Fwded: Beware of absentee ballots

I am in no way vouching for the validity of the info below... but I received it in my inbox and could see that it's being forwarded... so I'm posting it here.

The story is all over Progressive Talk Radio today about the MCain campaign ending absentee ballot applications to registered democrats or people that have donated to Obama's campaign. These ballots are deliberately misleading and have postage paid return addresses that are for an election clerk that is outside of your city or town. What this will end up doing is either having your vote not counted, or if you return one of these, they will cite you for election fraud, saying that you already voted absentee. These ballots are only being sent out in 'purple states' and this is a big deal.. This is called votercaging, and is a huge problem.

The McCain campaign is stealing this election as we speak. Please get this information out to as many people as you can, and tell anyone you know who has received one of these ballots that they need to contact their city election clerk or the supervisor of elections immediately. Also call the local media and let them know what is going on.

The main stream media is never going to cover this so we have to depend on our ground campaign to get the word out to our voters.

Check out Misdirected Finger Pointing too - this seems to be another case in which some groups or individuals are acting out and their actions are being blamed on an organized group - in this case the McCain Campaign. If what's above is happening, are there real ties to the McCain Campaign or simply McCain supporters?

Sex, gifts, big oil and the government

Check out this article about sex, gifts, big oil and the government. According to the AP story, "Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties partied, had sex with and accepted golf and ski outings from employees of energy companies they were dealing with, federal investigators said Wednesday."

Read it, it's juicy... alot like a sleazy soap opera or trashy movie.

Someone is always watching...

Click here to read more about Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and who may have been spying on him.

The Juxtaposition of Poverty and (Excessive) Luxury

What do you think about it? Check out this New York Times article about the imagery used in a recent Vogue India. The magazine used real struggling people in their everyday environments to model expensive luxury brands. Art/creative-wise, maybe a great route. But socially, ethically, what messages does it send?

Check out some additional details in the article, like the fact that the people weren't identified, only the objects (Hermès Birkin bag valued at $10,000+, a Fendi bib at ~$100, Burberry umbrella - ~$200)... that's the point though, right?

According to the article, nearly half of India's population lives on less than $1.25 a day. I wonder if the people got paid like professional models would.

Gays and lesbians can provide safe, loving, nurturing homes too

According to the Associated Press, "a proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas." This new proposed law would prevent unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children. A previous law that outright said banned gays and lesbians was struck down by the state supreme court. So this effort will attempt to accomplish the same goal as gay marriages are banned in Arkansas and the state refuses to acknowledge gay marriages which took place in another state.

This new law on the ballot is aimed to judge what's right and wrong. I believe foster and adoptive parents go through background checks and home visits, etc. to ensure they are fit to be parents. We know nothing is fool proof, but should sexual orientation be a factor? All I'm saying is, unless the members of the the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee are on active rosters to adopt and foster children, they should not be attempting to limit the already limited pool of people who wish to adopt the too many children who are wishing and praying everyday for a family and a place to call home, based on if someone is straight or not. Gays and lesbians can provide safe, loving, nurturing homes too.

Is your child the "donee" or the "donor"?

How long is long enough? Maybe it depends on which end of the transplant you are on. Of course we never want the doctors to pull the plug early or give up too soon. On the other hand, don't you want the best organs as fresh as possible if your child is waiting for a transplant.
That is the subject detailed in a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Can't talk about Olympics without talking about the lip-syncing little lady, right?

I admit it, last week was a long one and I fell asleep during the Opening Ceremony, so I missed most of it... but I heard about this... a 7-year-old Chinese girl had the perfect voice but not the perfect look to be a part of the show. So a 9-year-old substitute lip-synced to the 7-year-old's voice. How sad is that? Check out an article here.

To me, this happening is one thing, but the Chinese officials standing behind the decision, once exposed, is another. And, according to an article published today in the Washington Post the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stands behind the Chinese officials in their decision as well.

While if I step back and think like the director of a large production, I might find some understanding in this, the messages sent to each of the little girls in this situation truly has the potential to be detrimental. The "pretty" one may come to depend solely on her looks to "get her places." Or perhaps become less confident in her abilities beyond her looks. The "good singer" girl may become self-conscious of her looks and feel like she isn't good enough. The girls, who will surely have thousands more life situations that will help shape who they grow to be, may grow up and be well rounded "normal" people. Either way though, this is a sad thing that was done -- to both of them.