Watch this 16 second clip, and you'll see a senator who's so out of touch with his constituency you have to wonder how this guy manages to get re-elected term after term.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Busy Signal On Capitol Hill
If you've been trying to contact your Congressman or Congresswoman to tell them how bad of an idea this Stimulus Bill is - and I most certainly hope you are - then you may have noticed that you're getting a busy signal more often than you're getting anything else.
Somehow, I don't think people are swarming the phones telling Congress how great of a bill this is. America is making it loud and clear that this bill is a disaster waiting to happen.
If you haven't contacted your Senator yet, please do so. If you're even half as mad as I am, then you have to make your voice heard.
Since the phones are all tied up, try email or fax. You can find those numbers in my previous post. I didn't bother to write to Senator Chuck Schumer, who believes the bigger the bill the better. However, I did send a fax to New York's new senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Democratic Senator Gillibrand voted against the bailout as a New York state representative; which shows more guts and sense than many of her male Republican counterparts.
Unfortunately, I don't believe she'll be breaking ranks on this one, which is a terrible disappointment for what appeared to be an otherwise very positive looking Senator.
My fax is below in case you wish to use any part of it:
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
531 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-3204
Fax: (202) 228-0282
Dear Senator Gillibrand:
Upon hearing of your nomination, I read your record and was pleased to see how you voted steadfast against the Bailout. As a New Yorker and an American, I am proud to have such a fiscally responsible Senator.
However, this Stimulus Bill is of great concern to me and many others who I speak to. The people mistrust their government. There is a tremendous record of irresponsibility and overspending, and I believe the government is now overreaching like never before. No other entity in the United States of America but the Federal Government would dare think that you can spend and spend your way out of your problems.
Please consider past results: TARP was passed, and no one knows where the money went and how it was used. The government can use words such as oversight, but even with the best of intentions it simply does not happen. The government's record on responsible spending does not exist. Trusting the government with another trillion in spending would be equivalent to letting an alcoholic run a liquor store or a drug addict run a pharmacy.
I also see many prominent people, including our President saying how bleak our circumstances are, and we must act now. Rash action without thinking things through does not work. I see these calls for immediate action as scare tactics, or when one watches an infomercial, where if we "act now" we get additional junk.
I hope you once again can see the responsible side, and choose to say no. Without a doubt we are going through hard times, but burdening our children with trillions of dollars of debt so we can supposedly avoid hard times is not only selfish, but doomed to fail.
This is being sent by facsimile since your web site does not post an email, nor can I reach your office by telephone. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Somehow, I don't think people are swarming the phones telling Congress how great of a bill this is. America is making it loud and clear that this bill is a disaster waiting to happen.
If you haven't contacted your Senator yet, please do so. If you're even half as mad as I am, then you have to make your voice heard.
Since the phones are all tied up, try email or fax. You can find those numbers in my previous post. I didn't bother to write to Senator Chuck Schumer, who believes the bigger the bill the better. However, I did send a fax to New York's new senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Democratic Senator Gillibrand voted against the bailout as a New York state representative; which shows more guts and sense than many of her male Republican counterparts.
Unfortunately, I don't believe she'll be breaking ranks on this one, which is a terrible disappointment for what appeared to be an otherwise very positive looking Senator.
My fax is below in case you wish to use any part of it:
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
531 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
District of Columbia 20510-3204
Fax: (202) 228-0282
Dear Senator Gillibrand:
Upon hearing of your nomination, I read your record and was pleased to see how you voted steadfast against the Bailout. As a New Yorker and an American, I am proud to have such a fiscally responsible Senator.
However, this Stimulus Bill is of great concern to me and many others who I speak to. The people mistrust their government. There is a tremendous record of irresponsibility and overspending, and I believe the government is now overreaching like never before. No other entity in the United States of America but the Federal Government would dare think that you can spend and spend your way out of your problems.
Please consider past results: TARP was passed, and no one knows where the money went and how it was used. The government can use words such as oversight, but even with the best of intentions it simply does not happen. The government's record on responsible spending does not exist. Trusting the government with another trillion in spending would be equivalent to letting an alcoholic run a liquor store or a drug addict run a pharmacy.
I also see many prominent people, including our President saying how bleak our circumstances are, and we must act now. Rash action without thinking things through does not work. I see these calls for immediate action as scare tactics, or when one watches an infomercial, where if we "act now" we get additional junk.
I hope you once again can see the responsible side, and choose to say no. Without a doubt we are going through hard times, but burdening our children with trillions of dollars of debt so we can supposedly avoid hard times is not only selfish, but doomed to fail.
This is being sent by facsimile since your web site does not post an email, nor can I reach your office by telephone. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Say NO to 780,000,000,000.00
The battle lines have been drawn between sanity and insanity. No one else in the United States of America but the Federal Government would ever dare spend so much money without any idea how to pay for it. How do you stimulate an economy by borrowing an astronomical amount from China and/or by printing it in the basement? You can't.
The number is a "compromised" 780,000,000,000.00. Not 780 billion, or 780b. 780,000,000,000.00. Take a good look at that number. If the idea of government spending its way into prosperity worked, why didn't we spend this much when times were good?
Isn't anyone looking at past results? We passed this idiotic TARP bill and the government doesn't even know where the money went. Can you trust the government with a reputation for irresponsible spending with that kind of money? Would you let an alcoholic run a liquor store or a drug addict a pharmacy?
And what's with our President? Every day he gets on the mike and says how bleak our circumstances are. What happened to his campaign of hope, and optimism? I call what he's doing right now scare tactics. He's trying to scare us into supporting this stimulus bill as our only hope of recovery.
I hope you're with me when you say you don't believe it. You don't believe the government is more capable of spending your tax dollars than you are. You don't believe that shouldering generations of Americans with massive debt is an appropriate response for difficult times. You don't believe that these congressman and congresswomen (who just voted themselves in a pay increase THREE TIMES the annual norm) have our best interests at heart, and/or know what they're doing.
If so, it's not enough to sit back and complain. We really need to make our voices heard.
Write Your Representative
Contact Your Senator
Or just call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senators and your representative. Tell them what you think. Tell your friends/family/enemies to do the same. This is more than just another stupid bill in Congress - this is our future.
The number is a "compromised" 780,000,000,000.00. Not 780 billion, or 780b. 780,000,000,000.00. Take a good look at that number. If the idea of government spending its way into prosperity worked, why didn't we spend this much when times were good?
Isn't anyone looking at past results? We passed this idiotic TARP bill and the government doesn't even know where the money went. Can you trust the government with a reputation for irresponsible spending with that kind of money? Would you let an alcoholic run a liquor store or a drug addict a pharmacy?
And what's with our President? Every day he gets on the mike and says how bleak our circumstances are. What happened to his campaign of hope, and optimism? I call what he's doing right now scare tactics. He's trying to scare us into supporting this stimulus bill as our only hope of recovery.
I hope you're with me when you say you don't believe it. You don't believe the government is more capable of spending your tax dollars than you are. You don't believe that shouldering generations of Americans with massive debt is an appropriate response for difficult times. You don't believe that these congressman and congresswomen (who just voted themselves in a pay increase THREE TIMES the annual norm) have our best interests at heart, and/or know what they're doing.
If so, it's not enough to sit back and complain. We really need to make our voices heard.
Write Your Representative
Contact Your Senator
Or just call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senators and your representative. Tell them what you think. Tell your friends/family/enemies to do the same. This is more than just another stupid bill in Congress - this is our future.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Executive Pay: A Decent Day for Free Market Capitalism
President Obama now says that senior executive compensation will be capped at $500,000 for those companies receiving "exceptional assistance" from the government. Be happy about this, but not because we want to punish those big bad Wall Street executives.
This is good. Anyone watching CNBC and/or Fox Business when Congress passed TARP or approved a bailout for AIG, Citi, or any other bankruptcy deserving company/industry. Everyone on the trading floor was cheering and patting each other on the back. The DOW went up. Those jerks were thrilled about receiving welfare. As a business owner, the last thing I want is the government getting involved in any way, shape or form in my business.
Sorry Wall Street, most of us learned a long time ago there's no free lunch. These guys are worse than the people who take a "free vacation", not realizing that they need to sit through a very high pressure time share sales pitch.
Let the government put more regulations on these bailouts. Make them so unattractive that no company has any interest in taking them. The government has no idea how to run these companies. Look at the SEC. People were reporting this Madoff scam for years, and the SEC looked the other way. These are the guys who want to run Wall Street and health care.
On the other hand, don't be fooled. President Obama started his talk by explaining the urgency of this so-called Stimulus Plan, and then cleverly switched over to executive pay. Popularity for the Stimulus Plan is dropping like an anchor, as it should. The President is trying to tie executive pay together with the nonsense of the Stimulus Plan. They have nothing to do with each other.
This is good. Anyone watching CNBC and/or Fox Business when Congress passed TARP or approved a bailout for AIG, Citi, or any other bankruptcy deserving company/industry. Everyone on the trading floor was cheering and patting each other on the back. The DOW went up. Those jerks were thrilled about receiving welfare. As a business owner, the last thing I want is the government getting involved in any way, shape or form in my business.
Sorry Wall Street, most of us learned a long time ago there's no free lunch. These guys are worse than the people who take a "free vacation", not realizing that they need to sit through a very high pressure time share sales pitch.
Let the government put more regulations on these bailouts. Make them so unattractive that no company has any interest in taking them. The government has no idea how to run these companies. Look at the SEC. People were reporting this Madoff scam for years, and the SEC looked the other way. These are the guys who want to run Wall Street and health care.
On the other hand, don't be fooled. President Obama started his talk by explaining the urgency of this so-called Stimulus Plan, and then cleverly switched over to executive pay. Popularity for the Stimulus Plan is dropping like an anchor, as it should. The President is trying to tie executive pay together with the nonsense of the Stimulus Plan. They have nothing to do with each other.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Blagojevich and Madoff - Wrongly Singled Out?
Governor Rod Blagojevich is being impeached for allegedly auctioning off a US Senate seat to the highest bidder. Bernard Madoff is going on trial for an alleged ponzi scheme, where money is brought in, and returns on investment on paid with the money of other contributors, rather than the merits of the investment.
Why are these guys being singled out? Most Congressman vote on bills not for the bill's merit, but by the amount of pork that gets fed into a bill that has nothing to do with the bill. That's how the bailout passed. The first bailout was voted down. Then it was voted in because congressmen were promised money in their district for various programs that had nothing to do with the bailout. Isn't that selling your vote? How does that differ from Blagojevich? How is it wrong wrong to sell the job, but OK to act that way once you have the job.
As for a 50 billion dollar ponzi scheme: How many trillions of dollars have gone into Social Security, where we pay into a system that transfer the money to someone else? The scheme has been going on longer than Madoff's and is tremendously larger, but one of these days that scam is going to run out of money too. I doubt anyone is going to stand trial for that one.
Why are these guys being singled out? Most Congressman vote on bills not for the bill's merit, but by the amount of pork that gets fed into a bill that has nothing to do with the bill. That's how the bailout passed. The first bailout was voted down. Then it was voted in because congressmen were promised money in their district for various programs that had nothing to do with the bailout. Isn't that selling your vote? How does that differ from Blagojevich? How is it wrong wrong to sell the job, but OK to act that way once you have the job.
As for a 50 billion dollar ponzi scheme: How many trillions of dollars have gone into Social Security, where we pay into a system that transfer the money to someone else? The scheme has been going on longer than Madoff's and is tremendously larger, but one of these days that scam is going to run out of money too. I doubt anyone is going to stand trial for that one.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Reaction to the President's Farewell
A quick observation:
Over President Bush's 8 years, I've noticed that whenever he cites people's actions in his speeches, it's always people who are indisputable heroes. Tonight was no exception. For example: the staff sergeant who charged into an ambush in Iraq to save three of his fellow marines. The 60 year old surgeon who enlisted in the Navy medical corps to honor his fallen son. These people are the finest examples of courage, heroism, and resolve.
When I listened to President Elect Obama during his campaign, he was citing people who can't pay their bills, don't have medical insurance, are unemployed and/or have had their homes foreclosed upon. These people are the clearest examples of pain and suffering.
Both types exist. Draw your own conclusions as to why they choose the people they choose in their speeches.
Lastly, a few quotable quotes from a President who has strengths, but public speaking is often not one of them:
We must resists complacency.
We must keep our resolve.
And we must never let down our guard.
If America does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led.
Over President Bush's 8 years, I've noticed that whenever he cites people's actions in his speeches, it's always people who are indisputable heroes. Tonight was no exception. For example: the staff sergeant who charged into an ambush in Iraq to save three of his fellow marines. The 60 year old surgeon who enlisted in the Navy medical corps to honor his fallen son. These people are the finest examples of courage, heroism, and resolve.
When I listened to President Elect Obama during his campaign, he was citing people who can't pay their bills, don't have medical insurance, are unemployed and/or have had their homes foreclosed upon. These people are the clearest examples of pain and suffering.
Both types exist. Draw your own conclusions as to why they choose the people they choose in their speeches.
Lastly, a few quotable quotes from a President who has strengths, but public speaking is often not one of them:
We must resists complacency.
We must keep our resolve.
And we must never let down our guard.
If America does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led.
Monday, January 12, 2009
We Don't Need Government to the Rescue
Today, President George W Bush said "And I readily conceded that I chucked aside some of my free market principles when I was told by chief economic advisers that the situation we were facing could be worse than the Great Depression".
Mr. President: I've argued for you when it was very unpopular to do so. You can take responsibility for recognizing we were at war when the rest of the so called civilized world just wanted to chant bumper sticker slogans. But today, I'm beyond dissappointed. First, whoever told you things could be worse than the Great Depression either lied or is an idiot. We're nowhere near breadlines and 25% unemployment. And anyone who believes this ridiculous TARP program that's trying to keep failed companies afloat has staved off an economic disaster can call me because I have a bridge to sell them. Try reading some memoirs of the Great Depression before making such ridiculous comparisons.
Next, nice to know you chucked aside your free market principles because things were looking bad. It's easy to have principles when things look good; try standing by them when things get tough. You certainly did that by sticking it out in Iraq and the Surge when the rest of the world said we lost. Obviously, there were no free market principles.
Now onto our incoming President-Elect. Recently, he told us that only government can get us out of the mess. Well, that's a slap in the face to every entrepreneur and hard working independent Americans. Most of us don't want government helping us, and we most certainly don't need the government to get us out of this. When there's adversity, there's opportunity. Has everyone in the government forgotten this? I hope none of you have.
Get ready for the biggest power grab you have ever seen on American soil. If Barack Obama and Congress get what they want, we're looking at a massive transfer of economic power from the private sector to the government. And we all know what a great job the government has done with managing the DMV, Social Security, etc.
This isn't Republican vs. Democrat. There aren't enough voices on either side of the aisle with any common sense. Everyone is afraid, everyone is going to vote for this economic takeover, and whenever things turn around, they just want to take credit for it. But things are going to be made much worse from this intervention, prolonging the misery. You can't avoid recessions, they're part of the free market.
This is still a democracy. When the time comes for the Great American Bailout Plan, where trillions of dollars of money we don't have gets proposed in the name of "saving the economy" - I hope you're ready for battle. Make sure you call your Congressmen and Congresswomen, and let them know this is not what we want. They don't listen to us because they represent us; they listen to us because we can vote them out if we have half a brain. I hope we do.
Write Your Representative
Contact Your Senator
Mr. President: I've argued for you when it was very unpopular to do so. You can take responsibility for recognizing we were at war when the rest of the so called civilized world just wanted to chant bumper sticker slogans. But today, I'm beyond dissappointed. First, whoever told you things could be worse than the Great Depression either lied or is an idiot. We're nowhere near breadlines and 25% unemployment. And anyone who believes this ridiculous TARP program that's trying to keep failed companies afloat has staved off an economic disaster can call me because I have a bridge to sell them. Try reading some memoirs of the Great Depression before making such ridiculous comparisons.
Next, nice to know you chucked aside your free market principles because things were looking bad. It's easy to have principles when things look good; try standing by them when things get tough. You certainly did that by sticking it out in Iraq and the Surge when the rest of the world said we lost. Obviously, there were no free market principles.
Now onto our incoming President-Elect. Recently, he told us that only government can get us out of the mess. Well, that's a slap in the face to every entrepreneur and hard working independent Americans. Most of us don't want government helping us, and we most certainly don't need the government to get us out of this. When there's adversity, there's opportunity. Has everyone in the government forgotten this? I hope none of you have.
Get ready for the biggest power grab you have ever seen on American soil. If Barack Obama and Congress get what they want, we're looking at a massive transfer of economic power from the private sector to the government. And we all know what a great job the government has done with managing the DMV, Social Security, etc.
This isn't Republican vs. Democrat. There aren't enough voices on either side of the aisle with any common sense. Everyone is afraid, everyone is going to vote for this economic takeover, and whenever things turn around, they just want to take credit for it. But things are going to be made much worse from this intervention, prolonging the misery. You can't avoid recessions, they're part of the free market.
This is still a democracy. When the time comes for the Great American Bailout Plan, where trillions of dollars of money we don't have gets proposed in the name of "saving the economy" - I hope you're ready for battle. Make sure you call your Congressmen and Congresswomen, and let them know this is not what we want. They don't listen to us because they represent us; they listen to us because we can vote them out if we have half a brain. I hope we do.
Write Your Representative
Contact Your Senator
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
