Brian A. Thomas .com
Random Musings of Brian A. Thomas. Love for Ari and Sidd.
Purposely Ruin the Country, Get a $70 Billion Bonus
Oct 26th
Executives at 6 US banks will get $70 billion in bonuses for their work this year. That is a full 10% of the $700 billion bailout package these banks, along with a few others, will be receiving.
So let’s see, while the Fed was in Congress asking for the $700 billion, they took from the banks $125 billion, and now these banks are paying their executives bonuses amounting to $70 billion… That is nearly $200 billion that the banks and the Fed could have saved the taxpayers.
Nobody seems to be rising high hell about it. I heard a brief passing about it on the news, who went on to talk about the expected Fed rate cut. I did find a story about it though at the Guardian.
These guys purposely ran their financial institutions into the ground, knowing the government would bail them out, then get no punishment, and as a matter of fact get to take $70 billion in bonuses. I say, strip them of everything they have. Everything. Put them in a public housing apartment, salary cap them to $35,000 a year, and give them a 92 boat of a car that gets bad gas millage. That is the punishment for every board member and executive who has been in these companies for the last 10 perhaps as high as 15 years. Of course there will be no punishment, and years from now we’ll be right back in the same spot, especially since the laws that caused it are still in place as is the greed on the consumer and bank end.
Hacked
Sep 22nd
We were recently hacked. I am trying to mitigate damage as I write this. Hopefully I’ll have Internet access back at home real soon so I can properly fix everything.
Yet More Bailouts. Why God? Why?
Sep 19th
The US Government, fresh from bailing out AIG from being mismanaged, now is about to bail out tons of banks and other financial intuitions who were mismanaged. The boards, executives and upper management knew the risks they were taking, took in millions of dollars in compensation, without regard to the consequences if their risks went bad, as they knew they would sooner or later, since tons of people have been warning about the then pending housing crisis for well over 5 years before the bubble burst, and have been warning of other economic problems just as long or longer.
The burden of their greed will be carried by the American taxpayer to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars (AIG alone is over $85 billion). Yet what will become of the board, executives and upper management? Nothing. The CEO of AIG is being replaced, but he still got $7 million for his 3 months there, and we can be sure he’ll just go on to the next muli-million a year job. Richard Fuld at Lehman Brothers walked away with nearly $490 million after selling his options. The only punishment I have heard about so far from our government is to block $24 million to the heads of Fannie May and Freddie Mac.
Meanwhile, while these people tanked the American economy, and made millions (combined perhaps billions) doing it and will get to go about their multi-million dollar lives, the regular hard working, taxpaying American will bear the burden. Those of us who have to decide which bill to skip this month, and can only dream of having enough for a 401k, let alone a more serious retirement plan, have to go hungry some days so the kids can eat healthy, will be paying for the errors of these board members and executives of these financial intuitions.
More >
On Moving
Sep 18th
Okay, so we have a 5 year plan to move out of the US.
We have a few main points of looking at so far…
Wellington, New Zealand. I would prefer somewhere along the Kapiti Coast if I could get a job there as well since it is so far from Wellington’s CBD, but still part of the Wellington Region.
Vancouver, Canada. Not sure where specifically to look at here. I was thinking North Vancouver, but that really depends on the job location.
To that list I keep thinking of adding Melbourne, Australia. More >
Congrats to the All Blacks on Winning 2008 Tri Nations Cup
Sep 17th
Big congratulations to the All Blacks for winning the Tri Nations Cup against the Wallabies 28 to 24 in Brisbane Australia.
I don’t follow Rugby enough to know if the All Blacks made the right choice by going with Graham Henry as head coach again over the Wallabies coach Robbie Deans. At the time it looked like the public was in favor of Robbie Deans, but I don’t know how they are reacting in New Zealand now that Henry pulled off the Tri-Nations… of course the real test will be if the All Blacks can win the Rugby World Cup when it happens next in 2011…(In 2007, they didn’t even make it to the final 4.)
Can’t Keep Quiet Anymore
Sep 17th
First let’s talk about Palin… One has to worry when the VP choice is far more popular than the actual nominee. People are leaving after she speaks while McCain is talking, and when appearing separately, she draws far bigger and enthusiastic crowds. It’s sort of as confusing as people loving American Idol over far better TV choices… Then there is the fact she tried to ban books, then tried to fire the librarian for not complying… and other abuses of power (firing the guy for not firing her ex-brother in law… her staff not complying with the subpoenas)… hey she’ll fit right in with the Bush administration…
Then there is the offshore drilling. I have to say I like the provisions the Dems put it, let the White House and Republicans rip into it… What’s wrong with having the state it is about to be used in approve it? What’s wrong with having to actually drill the spots they have now before adding new ones? Nothing with any of them aside from the fact it doesn’t favor the oil companies.
Now to the AIG bailout. Okay, so lots of companies all around the world would have been hurt if it failed. The problem I have is that unless we take the money out of the accounts of the board and other executives who made the bad decisions that led the company down this path, than they have been rewarded for gross incompetency. I would at least bring huge civil suits against the board and the rest of upper management to help offset any burden the government will have. It’s would almost be like bailing out Ford or the other big 3. They were the ones who bet heavily on big cars, trucks and SUVs without a good range of smaller to midsized cars for when the economy went south… and they had to know that sooner or later it would go south and gas prices would jump high… yet these boards and executives make millions for being idiots. We shouldn’t reward people for being stupid, and when their decisions touch as many lives and companies as AIG did, then those idiots need punished. Of course the reality is that they will walk away multi millionaires, and be given charge of another company, where they can do it all over again, because these idiots never learn… Look at the big 3 who had the same problem when gas prices jumped in the 70s, corrected but went right back to making the big cars and trucks that got them in trouble then.
Brian’s Simple Save America’s Housing Plan
Sep 1st
With a full blown mortgage crisis going on, there are many plans out there to save the homes of American’s. This is mine.
The government forms a corporation and this corporation buys the loan of the approved applicant. This loan is, mostly, a very very low interest loan. There are however a few gotchas that come with the program.
More >
Proof Bush is a Communist and Doesn’t Believe in Free Markets
Aug 31st
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef in Kansas wanted to start testing all its meat for Mad Cow disease (currently only 1% of our meat is tested for the incurable disease that lays waste to the human brain), but the Bush administration stopped them because larger meat packing firms feared that if Creekstone Farms Premium Beef succeeded in getting better sales because they were advertising they were testing all their meat, then they would have to follow suit and start doing expensive tests themselves… in other words the meat packing industry feared the open market and asked the Bush administration. (Story.)
Since McCain is a twin of Bush, I would expect more of the same from him.
US beef (and a range of other meat) is already banned in many countries outside the US (even China refuses to let our meat in), I think this will just solidify their ban. (The EEC bans US beef do to the hormone treatments most US meat growers give their cows to speed the growth process.) I guess we can chalk up another reason to move to New Zealand as fast as possible, safer food.
Anyhow, I find it amazing that the Bush administration would actually take steps to block the free market from allowing proven safer beef from reaching the market, especially when the company was going to pay for it itself.
Lowest Grossing Film of All Time Made $30 at the Box Office in 2005
Aug 30th
Yes, Thirty Dollars. That is what ZYZZYX RD. made in its box office run. To be fair it was ran in just one theater for one week just to meet SAG requirements, as the director wanted foreign distribution before it would be tackled by domestic distribution… Actually, after you take out the $10 refund to the make-up artist and her friend, the film made only $20 in theaters domestically.
Just as I Thought They Need a Movie About Rugby
Aug 28th
I just saw a trailer for yet another ping pong movie, and then one for soccer, and I started thinking, I have seen movies based on lots of sports: all the aforementioned, golf, football, basketball, a few others, but never one for rugby. Oddly, the very next trailer I clicked at random on Apple’s Trailer site was for Forever Strong, staring Sean Faris, Gary Cole and Sean Astin. (Despite the All Black Haka style intro we see at the start of the trailer, shown below, the movie takes place in the USA.)
Watch the better quality trailer at the official site linked above.
Your Moment of Humor: Usain Bolt Celebrates Early…Very Early
Aug 26th
A moment of humor for everyone:
Odd Bug
Aug 25th
Hmm…. It looks like all my posts lost their Categories and Tags. Hopefully this is just a temporary hiccup on the database.
Tags are back, and older posts have their Categories back, but my list for categories for new posts is gone now. Even going to Manage > Categories shows a blank list. I think my table got corrupted when the database went down earlier…
EDIT: Fixed it with a database repair.
Probably Going Silent Soon
Aug 25th
We likely will loose our Internet connection for a while until we can get caught up on all our other bills. So I probably won’t be able to make any posts for a while or approve comments (or watch for ones that got marked as Spam on accident). I should still be able to check my email once in a while at work.
Sara’s Pregnant
Aug 25th
Most of the family already knows, as does most of our friends. For the rest of our family and friends who may not have heard the news, Sara is pregnant. We have a medical confirmation, and she’ll be going for her first pre-natal visit soon. The current expected date is in April.
Back on the New Zealand Bandwagon Again
Aug 25th
I am back on the wanting to move to New Zealand bandwagon again.
As much as I like the idea of moving to Nelson, New Zealand, I think we would likely do Wellington. Sara was hot for the idea for a short while, but has cooled off again… It is far from everyone we know, but it is on the 5 year plan.
You Know the Economy is Bad When
Aug 23rd
I saw a report that illegal Mexican immigrants are returning to Mexico in record numbers (story). A part of it is the fear over the tougher stance of illegal immigration, but the biggest part is America’s softening economy. Of course apparently lots of Mexican’s resent them returning since they are afraid that it will drive wages down and burden the social services. I can see the Neo-Cons now… “It’s not a failed Economic Policy, it is sound immigration policy.”
Interesting Historical Note
Aug 23rd
McCain, and tons of others, talk about how America was founded on Judea-Christian traditions. however, even Thomas Jefferson (yes, THE Thomas Jefferson, renowned Founding Father, favored among Liberals, Neo-Cons, Evangelicals and more) noted: “The proof of the contrary, which you have adduced, is incontrovertible; to wit, that the common law existed while the Anglo-Saxons were yet Pagans, at a time when they had never yet heard the name of Christ pronounced, or knew that such a character had ever existed.” Thomas Jefferson’s original design for the Great Seal was to include the images of Hengist and Horsa (leaders of the Anglo-Saxons, two thousand years before Christianity reached their shores) on one side (to be fair the reverse side on Jefferson’s seal would have had Moses leading people to the promised land.). So, if we are speaking about our system of laws and values, we are in fact founded on Pagan traditions…
Perhaps McCain wasn’t talking about our Nation’s actual founding, but going back further… Native Americans… not Christian before Westerner’s forced them to convert, so he wasn’t talking about them. Vikings were here next… again not Christian. The Pilgrims were Christian. Perhaps he was talking about them… but they were escaping a Christian country (much like the Evangelicals would like to setup), so perhaps not the best example. So what the hell was he talking about?
The Trouble with Offshore Drilling in America
Aug 23rd
Some polls suggest up to 73% of American’s support offshore drilling to help decrease our dependence on foreign oil.There are just so many problems it hard to know where to start… so I’ll just make a little list in no particular order.
Before I go on, I should point out that I don’t necessarily oppose offshore drilling, but I think the reasoning is misdirected and relies on American’s ignorance of markets and other issues.
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Explore Loch Modan
Explore Dun Morogh
Explore Westfall
Explore Elwynn Forest
Ragefire Chasm
Wishlist.
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If Your Comment Wasn’t Approved
Aug 23rd
Posted by Brian A. Thomas in WordPress
No comments
I use Akismet to block comment spam. For one of the very few times in the last few years of using it, I looked through the comments it caught and I found 3 comments out of 60 or so that weren’t spam.
After a bit of searching on Akismet false positives I am now convinced that a ton of messages may have been marked as spam that were in fact not. My deepest appologies and while I can not recover those lost messages, I will try to change to Spam Karma or something like that.
(Also, if we loose our Internet connection again soon, which is likely, it may be a while before the comments are approved, I’ll try to post that when the site goes down…)
EDIT 1: Now using Spam Karma to do help with the moderating… only a couple hours and already 50 some spams… would hate to see what a blog with higher popularity would have to put up with.
EDIT 2: I am now considering switching from WordPres to Drupal… but will probably wait until Drupal 7 is out before making that choice… and it has little to do with the Spam since that would be an equal problem with both platforms.
EDIT 3: With all the real comments I have had since I turned off Akistmit, I am now sure it was giving TONS of false positives.