Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashed the Obama's first state dinner. Unless you have been living under a rock you must have heard about the DC couple who talked their way into the state dinner.
While the lack of security is somewhat of a concern to me, the bigger concern for me has to be that Obama obviously did not know who was coming to his own dinner! There are photos of them talking talking to the President and first lady and the vice president, as well as pictures of them walking through the receiving line.
Granted there were a lot of people at the affair, but we had a lot of people at my wedding, and if I did not recognize someone I asked my wife who it was. Wouldn't you think he would know (and recognize) everyone who was invited...after all, didn't he make up the guest list (or at the very least approve it)?
My veterinarian sees a lot of dogs and cats, yet he knows all the dogs and owners by sight. he cheats of course. He has a picture of every dog and the file contains both the dogs name and the owners. In the morning he looks at all the files so he can be ready to greet each client. When he walks through the door he greets the dog and us by name. It is a sign of respect. The message is he cares about who we are. With all the resources at his command, Obama did not "study" the guest list? I know he is a busy man, but doesn't it make a better impression on the visiting dignitaries if you actually know who they are? Worse yet, what message does it send to the world? Obviously the terrorists are thrilled with this info. If a couple can so easily infiltrate the white house, they must be licking their chops.
The Secret Service says the Pres was in no danger because all the guests passed through the magnetometer. Isn't the comment a bit specious (not to mention self serving). This was a dinner wasn't it? What were they eating with, foam rubber utensils? I am certain there were some steak knives lying around. An amateur could kill a man with a fork if he was motivated enough. I'm guessing there were plenty of bottles lying around. I remember how jagged the glass shards of a broken bottle are. The SS is downplaying the danger they subjected the President too.
The rest of the world just sees this as another example of our lack of attention to detail. That can't be good for our worldwide rep.
With all the challenges we face now, a couple of party crashers seems like a dumb thing to focus on, but its more than just the ease with which they crashed an important event. It reminds us of how sloppy we've become. Sloppy is not what we want the world to think about America
Shame on Michaele and Tareq Salahi. They put their greed and their desire for publicity and a reality TV show ahead of their responsibility for their country. Rather than put them on a reality show, we should put them on the first plane to Iraq or Afghanistan. Let them spend some time fighting for the country they so callously embarrassed.
In my opinion, the producers of the "real housewives" should not consider her for the show. If they do use them, advertisers and viewers should change the channel. With every problem we have right now, we did not need another one! No network should pay them for their story or photos...isn't that profiting from a crime (trespassing)?
Showing posts with label Barak Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barak Obama. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
The 16 Billion Dollar Question!
First I must apologize. My family has requested I stop putting personal stuff on the web. My explanation that it would never get lost and that after I am gone they can each have a copy without going to Kinko's was not acceptable. Because of that my blogs will be fewer and less personal. (perhaps that is for the best anyway. there are enough subjects I feel strongly enough about to keep me occupied!
So what exactly is the $16 Billion Question? Lets start with the number of zero's in 16 Billion. There are a few people in the world who do not have to look that up. Sadly I am not one of them. That knowledge belongs to the Gates, Buffets, DeVoss's, Davidsons, and Waltons of America. I will not apologize to the billionaires I left out because, lets face it, they are not likely to read this!
For the rest of us (including our Senators and Congressmen which I will make clearer in a few paragraphs), a billion dollars is a one followed by nine zeros (eleven if you count the pennies, but if you have a billion dollars you probably round off to the nearest dollar, or the nearest 100,000 lets face it), or more precisely 1,000,000,000.00. so $16 billion is $16,000,000,000.00
An article by Justin Fox in last weeks Time Magazine made me furious. The Obama Administration was answering the charges about whether or not the stimulus package was working. Their defense was that 30,000 jobs were directly or indirectly produced by "the first $16 billion" (God help us if there is a second $16 billion, bear with me and you will understand). House Minority Leader John Boehner said that such exulting was "beyond the pale" since "3 million private-sector jobs have been lost since it became law". Even he did not get the $16 billion question!
Since I am neither a billionaire or a math whiz I had to resort to a calculator to find the amount we spent per job created. Since my calculator can not handle numbers in the billions (without using scientific notation), I had to drop a few zeros. Take four zeros off of 16 billion and you get 1,600,000 (written out 1600000 0000 cancel the four zeros on 33,000 and you get 3.3). So divide 1.6 Million by 3.3 (luckily that number does make sense to me) and you get 484,848.
Pulling it all together $16 Billion divided by 30,000 jobs created means each job cost the American Taxpayer (that is us folks) Almost HALF a MILLION DOLLARS per job! ( I know I rounded up but if you made $484,848.48 you would tell everyone you made half a million) Feel free to check my math. I had to do it 3X because I could not believe the numbers myself. I assumed that I missed a zero somewhere and it actually only cost $48,884.00 per job created. NOPE!
Those better be some great F in jobs that were created! I am betting the jobs were most likely in the $48,000.00 a year range. Give my friend Doug Savage ( Bearing Service Inc) a fraction of that money and he would create meaningful jobs. Give Lee Iacocca a fraction of that money and we could buy Chrysler back from the French-and rebuild it to an American Icon! Give John Rakolta (Walbridge Aldinger) a fraction of that money and watch how many good paying construction jobs are created. The list of course is endless but the point is made. The private sector creates good jobs for far less money
So we finally get to the $16 Billion Question (I actually have a lot more than one question, but let's start with this one!)
So what exactly is the $16 Billion Question? Lets start with the number of zero's in 16 Billion. There are a few people in the world who do not have to look that up. Sadly I am not one of them. That knowledge belongs to the Gates, Buffets, DeVoss's, Davidsons, and Waltons of America. I will not apologize to the billionaires I left out because, lets face it, they are not likely to read this!
For the rest of us (including our Senators and Congressmen which I will make clearer in a few paragraphs), a billion dollars is a one followed by nine zeros (eleven if you count the pennies, but if you have a billion dollars you probably round off to the nearest dollar, or the nearest 100,000 lets face it), or more precisely 1,000,000,000.00. so $16 billion is $16,000,000,000.00
An article by Justin Fox in last weeks Time Magazine made me furious. The Obama Administration was answering the charges about whether or not the stimulus package was working. Their defense was that 30,000 jobs were directly or indirectly produced by "the first $16 billion" (God help us if there is a second $16 billion, bear with me and you will understand). House Minority Leader John Boehner said that such exulting was "beyond the pale" since "3 million private-sector jobs have been lost since it became law". Even he did not get the $16 billion question!
Since I am neither a billionaire or a math whiz I had to resort to a calculator to find the amount we spent per job created. Since my calculator can not handle numbers in the billions (without using scientific notation), I had to drop a few zeros. Take four zeros off of 16 billion and you get 1,600,000 (written out 1600000 0000 cancel the four zeros on 33,000 and you get 3.3). So divide 1.6 Million by 3.3 (luckily that number does make sense to me) and you get 484,848.
Pulling it all together $16 Billion divided by 30,000 jobs created means each job cost the American Taxpayer (that is us folks) Almost HALF a MILLION DOLLARS per job! ( I know I rounded up but if you made $484,848.48 you would tell everyone you made half a million) Feel free to check my math. I had to do it 3X because I could not believe the numbers myself. I assumed that I missed a zero somewhere and it actually only cost $48,884.00 per job created. NOPE!
Those better be some great F in jobs that were created! I am betting the jobs were most likely in the $48,000.00 a year range. Give my friend Doug Savage ( Bearing Service Inc) a fraction of that money and he would create meaningful jobs. Give Lee Iacocca a fraction of that money and we could buy Chrysler back from the French-and rebuild it to an American Icon! Give John Rakolta (Walbridge Aldinger) a fraction of that money and watch how many good paying construction jobs are created. The list of course is endless but the point is made. The private sector creates good jobs for far less money
So we finally get to the $16 Billion Question (I actually have a lot more than one question, but let's start with this one!)
Where did the Half a Million Dollars Go?
I am not an economist, but wouldn't it have been smarter to find 30,000 unemployed people and give each of them a $150,000.00 to spend? I know the answer our politicians are going to give us is a lot of the 16 Billion went to the stimulus checks they sent out, but again, if it cost us Almost HALF a MILLION DOLLARS per job was that such a smart idea?
My guess is a considerable amount of the "stimulus money" went to stimulate the friends and relatives of the Congress and Senate. I know that sounds cynical, but I am from the Detroit area where hiring idiot relatives (without even a high school diploma) and paying them outrageous sums of money to do do Jack-you- know-what (or to not even show up) was taken to an art form by our previous Mayor the Dishonorable Kwame Kilpatrick.
Lets face it, he must have learned that from his mom Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI) Congresswoman representing Michigan's 13th District and his dad Bernard Kilpatrick . For more info on the dirty dealings of the Kilpatrick Family check out the blog of Skeptical Brotha, but do it when you have time (their criminal misconduct can fill a book just on the surface). http://skepticalbrotha.wordpress.com/category/carolyn-cheeks-kilpatrick/ I am guessing she and a lot of other Senators and Congress persons benefited directly or indirectly from the "stimulus money".
Unfortunately the $16 Billion Question will never be answered, but that does not mean we shouldn't ask them! I am forwarding this page to my elected officials. Whether you choose to do so is, of course, entirely up to you. I am also sending a copy of this to everyone in my address book and asking them to do the same. This is not a Republican or Democratic problem, This is an American Problem! Remember the comment about the "first $16 Billion" implying a "second $16 Billion" can not be far off. We can not let this go on. Our fore fathers started a revolution over much smaller numbers (even adjusted for inflation) than these.
My feelings are a wholesale replacement of all our elected officials is needed. The approval ratings of congress as a whole is less than 20% yet incumbents keep getting elected. The feeling seems to be "Government Sucks but our guy really looks out for us". NO NO NO. They all are guilty of looking after themselves. Tell me another profession where you can put in as little as 6 years and walk away with a pension equaling 100% of your salary, for life! Plus the best medical benefits in the country with zero copay, zero deductible and no premiums for life as well. You can't because there are none! Realize folks, they voted this benefit package for themselves. We did not get to vote on whether this was fair. If a publicly traded company offered their employees such a deal, there would be a shareholder revolt and every executive of the company would be fired for voting for such a ridiculous compensation package. why should we tolerate this from our elected officials.
There will be more on this subject I assure you but for now I will finish with this. If you agree with all or part of this, send a copy (or just the stuff you agree with) to your elected officials. I am including a link where you can find out how to contact them. Encourage as many of your friends to do the same thing. We need a government who looks after us for a change. One which severely limits the lobbying of special interest groups. One which quickly deals with the problems our country is facing. One which allows us, their employers, to decide on their compensation and benefits, or perhaps limits itself to the average of all the salary and benefits packages in the country. The "Compensation Czar" was good enough for the companies who took a tax payer bailout, why should the tax supported government officials be treated better?
As usual just my opinions. I hope you share them, and will share them with as many people as possible.
Elected officials contact information can be found at: http://conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm
and you don't have to be a conservative to use the info on their site!
I am not an economist, but wouldn't it have been smarter to find 30,000 unemployed people and give each of them a $150,000.00 to spend? I know the answer our politicians are going to give us is a lot of the 16 Billion went to the stimulus checks they sent out, but again, if it cost us Almost HALF a MILLION DOLLARS per job was that such a smart idea?
My guess is a considerable amount of the "stimulus money" went to stimulate the friends and relatives of the Congress and Senate. I know that sounds cynical, but I am from the Detroit area where hiring idiot relatives (without even a high school diploma) and paying them outrageous sums of money to do do Jack-you- know-what (or to not even show up) was taken to an art form by our previous Mayor the Dishonorable Kwame Kilpatrick.
Lets face it, he must have learned that from his mom Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI) Congresswoman representing Michigan's 13th District and his dad Bernard Kilpatrick . For more info on the dirty dealings of the Kilpatrick Family check out the blog of Skeptical Brotha, but do it when you have time (their criminal misconduct can fill a book just on the surface). http://skepticalbrotha.wordpress.com/category/carolyn-cheeks-kilpatrick/ I am guessing she and a lot of other Senators and Congress persons benefited directly or indirectly from the "stimulus money".
Unfortunately the $16 Billion Question will never be answered, but that does not mean we shouldn't ask them! I am forwarding this page to my elected officials. Whether you choose to do so is, of course, entirely up to you. I am also sending a copy of this to everyone in my address book and asking them to do the same. This is not a Republican or Democratic problem, This is an American Problem! Remember the comment about the "first $16 Billion" implying a "second $16 Billion" can not be far off. We can not let this go on. Our fore fathers started a revolution over much smaller numbers (even adjusted for inflation) than these.
My feelings are a wholesale replacement of all our elected officials is needed. The approval ratings of congress as a whole is less than 20% yet incumbents keep getting elected. The feeling seems to be "Government Sucks but our guy really looks out for us". NO NO NO. They all are guilty of looking after themselves. Tell me another profession where you can put in as little as 6 years and walk away with a pension equaling 100% of your salary, for life! Plus the best medical benefits in the country with zero copay, zero deductible and no premiums for life as well. You can't because there are none! Realize folks, they voted this benefit package for themselves. We did not get to vote on whether this was fair. If a publicly traded company offered their employees such a deal, there would be a shareholder revolt and every executive of the company would be fired for voting for such a ridiculous compensation package. why should we tolerate this from our elected officials.
There will be more on this subject I assure you but for now I will finish with this. If you agree with all or part of this, send a copy (or just the stuff you agree with) to your elected officials. I am including a link where you can find out how to contact them. Encourage as many of your friends to do the same thing. We need a government who looks after us for a change. One which severely limits the lobbying of special interest groups. One which quickly deals with the problems our country is facing. One which allows us, their employers, to decide on their compensation and benefits, or perhaps limits itself to the average of all the salary and benefits packages in the country. The "Compensation Czar" was good enough for the companies who took a tax payer bailout, why should the tax supported government officials be treated better?
As usual just my opinions. I hope you share them, and will share them with as many people as possible.
Elected officials contact information can be found at: http://conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm
and you don't have to be a conservative to use the info on their site!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Don't judge a book by the clothes it wears.
Ok so the quotes a little off. All my life I have been judged by looks. I was lucky enough to find something I loved to do (and was good at) at a very young age. I graduated from a University when I was just shy of 21. I can't claim any special intelligence, it was just based on hard work, going to school all year round, taking overload classes (usually 20+ credit hours), and a little luck with my scheduling. As a result, I was younger than most when I graduated from college.
Looking young is both a treasure and a curse. In the beginning, no one takes you seriously (think Doogie Howser without the heavy facial hair). Past the age of 35 it is a real blessing (think Dick Clark under 200). The biggest challenge was being taken seriously. After a few years in the business I volunteered to help new people on sales calls. It never failed, we would go on sales calls and the customers always thought I was the one being trained. They would direct all the questions to the "senior" rep, who would usually turn to me for the answers. I did not mind (I always thought it was funny, especially when the customer finally realized I was the trainer, not the trainee). Another sure thing was them saying "do you mind if I ask you your age?" I learned a great line from my dad, I would lean in and say "can you keep a secret". They always said yes, to which i would reply "so can I". If they pressed the issue, I would say, "well I graduated from college 4 years ago, you can do the math". It gave me an extra year or two in most minds.
When I got married a lot of the questions stopped. Something about a wedding ring changes how old you look (that or being married ages you quickly). People still judged me by my looks but in different situations. My wife and I decided to buy a boat (OK I decided and she went along, I told you she was perfect!). I went to the boat dealer on the weekend (No sense costing myself money when I was going to spend a chunk of it) Because it was the weekend I was dressed casually (jeans and a polo). I wandered around the showroom waiting for a sales person to approach me. You guessed it, they all went after the older people (the serious buyers). I finally got tired of waiting and approached a guy doing paperwork at a desk. I asked if we could talk about the boat I knew I was going to buy. He looked me up and down, looked back at his paperwork and said "I'll be with you in a minute". The younger me did not like being underestimated, so I went to another salesman just standing around and loudly said "you and I are going to argue about the price, but I'm leaving today with that boat" pointing at the one I wanted. He was only too happy to help me. Of course the first rep jumped to his feet and said " hey I was going to help you". "Too late" I replied.
Another time I went to the Gucci store in Somerset Mall (again in my jeans and a polo...maybe that was the problem) and saw a purse I knew was perfect for my mom. I approached a sales person and said "can I see that purse on the top row". She looked me over and haughtily said "it's very expensive". You know of course what I did..I bought the purse from another person (and if there is a God they worked on commission). There were many other examples, and I'm certain i am not the only person who has been underestimated by others.
History is chock full of people who were underestimated. Albert Einstein, as everyone knows, worked as a patent clerk because he could not get a teaching post. Napoleon was underestimated because of his stature. Michael Jordan was cut from the High School varsity team as a sophomore. No one gave Barack Obama a chance against the Clinton machine. Mahatma Gandhi expected the British to walk out of India (I would love to have taken the odds on that action....100 million to 1 maybe?). No one gave Spud Webb a shot at the slam dunk title. I guess those of us who have been underestimated are in great company.
At 48 I am no longer underestimated due to my age, people frequently ask if my wife is my daughter (not the age, its the mileage). Now I am underestimated for a much different reason. I am wheelchair bound. I was in my wheelchair, and a puddle did something to the motor. The wheelchair was barely moving. I needed someone to help me out by pushing the reset button in the back (out of my reach). I approached a guy in a nearby gas station. I said "hey buddy, can you help with something?" His response was "sorry, I don't have any change!" My brain was working quickly that day so I shot back "Too bad", "I can give you a few bucks if you will push the reset button on my wheelchair for me." He blushed a bit and apologized for thinking I was a bum (ooops there goes my political incorrectness again, I mean a panhandler....Naaahhh a bum)
Don't judge a book by it's cover. Don't judge a person by their age or stature, their formal education or lack of it, and a hundred other things that cause us to make snap judgments.
Once again, just my opinion, one shared by Einstein, Napoleon, Obama, Gandhi, Jordan, and the hundreds of thousands of us who were or are underestimated.
Looking young is both a treasure and a curse. In the beginning, no one takes you seriously (think Doogie Howser without the heavy facial hair). Past the age of 35 it is a real blessing (think Dick Clark under 200). The biggest challenge was being taken seriously. After a few years in the business I volunteered to help new people on sales calls. It never failed, we would go on sales calls and the customers always thought I was the one being trained. They would direct all the questions to the "senior" rep, who would usually turn to me for the answers. I did not mind (I always thought it was funny, especially when the customer finally realized I was the trainer, not the trainee). Another sure thing was them saying "do you mind if I ask you your age?" I learned a great line from my dad, I would lean in and say "can you keep a secret". They always said yes, to which i would reply "so can I". If they pressed the issue, I would say, "well I graduated from college 4 years ago, you can do the math". It gave me an extra year or two in most minds.
When I got married a lot of the questions stopped. Something about a wedding ring changes how old you look (that or being married ages you quickly). People still judged me by my looks but in different situations. My wife and I decided to buy a boat (OK I decided and she went along, I told you she was perfect!). I went to the boat dealer on the weekend (No sense costing myself money when I was going to spend a chunk of it) Because it was the weekend I was dressed casually (jeans and a polo). I wandered around the showroom waiting for a sales person to approach me. You guessed it, they all went after the older people (the serious buyers). I finally got tired of waiting and approached a guy doing paperwork at a desk. I asked if we could talk about the boat I knew I was going to buy. He looked me up and down, looked back at his paperwork and said "I'll be with you in a minute". The younger me did not like being underestimated, so I went to another salesman just standing around and loudly said "you and I are going to argue about the price, but I'm leaving today with that boat" pointing at the one I wanted. He was only too happy to help me. Of course the first rep jumped to his feet and said " hey I was going to help you". "Too late" I replied.
Another time I went to the Gucci store in Somerset Mall (again in my jeans and a polo...maybe that was the problem) and saw a purse I knew was perfect for my mom. I approached a sales person and said "can I see that purse on the top row". She looked me over and haughtily said "it's very expensive". You know of course what I did..I bought the purse from another person (and if there is a God they worked on commission). There were many other examples, and I'm certain i am not the only person who has been underestimated by others.
History is chock full of people who were underestimated. Albert Einstein, as everyone knows, worked as a patent clerk because he could not get a teaching post. Napoleon was underestimated because of his stature. Michael Jordan was cut from the High School varsity team as a sophomore. No one gave Barack Obama a chance against the Clinton machine. Mahatma Gandhi expected the British to walk out of India (I would love to have taken the odds on that action....100 million to 1 maybe?). No one gave Spud Webb a shot at the slam dunk title. I guess those of us who have been underestimated are in great company.
At 48 I am no longer underestimated due to my age, people frequently ask if my wife is my daughter (not the age, its the mileage). Now I am underestimated for a much different reason. I am wheelchair bound. I was in my wheelchair, and a puddle did something to the motor. The wheelchair was barely moving. I needed someone to help me out by pushing the reset button in the back (out of my reach). I approached a guy in a nearby gas station. I said "hey buddy, can you help with something?" His response was "sorry, I don't have any change!" My brain was working quickly that day so I shot back "Too bad", "I can give you a few bucks if you will push the reset button on my wheelchair for me." He blushed a bit and apologized for thinking I was a bum (ooops there goes my political incorrectness again, I mean a panhandler....Naaahhh a bum)
Don't judge a book by it's cover. Don't judge a person by their age or stature, their formal education or lack of it, and a hundred other things that cause us to make snap judgments.
Once again, just my opinion, one shared by Einstein, Napoleon, Obama, Gandhi, Jordan, and the hundreds of thousands of us who were or are underestimated.
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