Hey John, get a clue.

Again this week John McCain has been hinting around that Barack Obama is in fact, a Socialist.  Well John, if Barack is a Socialist then so are you.  You should spread out the speeches where you suggest Obama is a socialist but also promise to those that are behind on their mortgages that the government would step in and save them in a McCain Palin administration.  Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s senior domestic policy adviser, said that McCain’s plan calls for the government to pay full face value for troubled mortgages on properties that are now worth less than the loans.  Ok, just so I’m clear.  Obama is a socialist and McCain calls for the government to pay off troubled mortgages?  Ok, sounds good.  Too bad I pay my bills on time.

When do I get my union break?

Since 2001, the nation has lost more than 2.5 million manufacturing jobs.  Most of which were simply moved overseas. General Motors is closing plants quickly.  Airlines can’t lay people off fast enough.  Steel mills have declared bankruptcy.  One common finding is that a lot of these job losses are in union heavy industries.

Who’s going to win?

And that’s why he lost the election!

Ok I’m negative, I know. I’m assuming John McCain will lose this election. Here are just a few reasons why.

He’s not raising any money. Barack Obama’s camp reported raising $150 million in one month. He’s raising that kind of jack because he’s energizing people. Really exciting people. Hell even I’m ready to dip into my pockets for him after hearing him talk. What has McCain done to excite anyone? Ok, he did go out and find a hot running mate. Apart from that, his campaign has been tired. Boring. Nothing to really cheer about. Nothing to get behind. He needs to give people a reason to write a check.

How about taking a public speaking class? I’m not sure what it is but Barack Obama on his worst day of public speaking is better than John McCain on his best day. Sure we shouldn’t be electing a President based on how clever a speaker they are but it’s a pretty big factor. Barack Obama can always be counted on to deliver a great speech. McCain on the other hand, can’t be counted on to deliver an adequate speech consistently. The public wants to see someone who’s clever, who’s confident, who can stir emotion. I may be wrong. I would never describe George W. Bush as clever but he won twice.

Let’s stick to our talking points. In all three debates Barack Obama was able to escape with victory or tie by following one simple rule. He stuck to his talking points. He may not have answered any questions but he was able to convey his message over and over again throughout each debate. McCain, bless him, was unable to do the same. John McCain was all over the place. He wasn’t horrible, but he wasn’t strong enough in convincing the American people to vote for him.

The economy. The economy fucking sucks. That’s not good for McCain because he’s a Republican and we all know the reason the economy fucking sucks is because of George W. Bush and his failed policies. That god damn George W. Bush has this economy so fucked I had to stand in a line for two hours the other day just to get a loaf of bread. Do you wanna know how much that loaf of bread cost? I’m not sure but it took almost all of the dollar bills I had in my wheel barrel. That’s what Barack Obama has everyone thinking. “Holy shit if we elect another Republican to office we’re fucked”! Everytime someone gets kicked in the nuts with their 401k that’s another strike against John McCain.

How about a closing argument? Back to the debates. With each debate, each candidate has had time at the end for closing arguments. In each debate Barack Obama has looked at the camera and given a well rehearsed, well articulated, closing argument. It’s something you know is coming. How about prepare something? Maybe use your entire two minutes? Maybe give the voters a crystal clear reason to vote for you?

Technology and getting the word out. Look at your iPhone. Obama has a free application to keep you linked to the campaign. The Obama campaign has made it so easy to keep track of appearances. They make it easy to donate money. They make it easy to become a volunteer. I guess John McCain doesn’t think he needs to use the internets or fancy young people gadgets for his campaign.

I’m not exactly sure who will win the election, I do know that McCain hasn’t run a competitive campaign. If he wins I’ll certainly be proven wrong. Come on John! Step it up!

Got 11 days?

Ok so you’ve got 11 days off.  What should you do?  Here’s an idea.  Fly to Seattle, Washington.  Leave on a Friday, get there Friday evening.  You’ll need to rent a car. 

I should’ve bought a bigger house

John McCain 10/07/08 “I would order the secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes.”

What!  Is he fucking serious?  John McCain said that.  Not Barack Obama.  The Republican candidate for president said that.  Not a Democrat.  Has John McCain lost his god damn mind?  So in addition to this awsome $700 billion bailout package that was passed, John McCain submits he’ll spend more money to buy up mortgages that people have defaulted on.  He’ll buy up mortgages that people are behind in payments.  Negotiate a new price at the new value of the home.  Essentially, he’s giving people that haven’t made on time payments or have defaulted on their loans principle in their homes.  Home values have dropped all over the country.  What about those of us who chose to buy a house they can afford?  I already pay additional principle on my home loan every month.  I wonder if McCain will help me pay more principle toward my house. I’ll bet not.  I’ll bet he’ll only help people who bought houses they can’t afford.  That’s fair.  In retrospect, I should have caved to the commission happy mortgage brokers and realtors who told me they could get me approved for a much larger, more expensive house.

John McCain lost last night’s debate because of this rediculous statement.  It also shows that he’s not surrounding himself with the right handlers and advisors.  A Republican advisor worth a shit would have told him that saying that in a debate would be suicide.  It would alienate him from conservative supporters.  Already, a lot of Republicans are considering voting for Obama does John really want to push those people over the edge.  Republicans consider voting for Obama because really how much worse can it get.  Could he really be that bad?  Who knows.  What I do know is that I should have bought a bigger house.

Interesting article

http://www.cracked.com/article_16676_6-emails-you-get-when-your-company-about-go-under.html

So this article was spot on.  Where I work, I’ve gotten every single one of these emails.  Maybe I should start to do some more worrying about my job???  I’m off tomorrow, perhaps I’ll take that time to sit on a park bench and worry.

There’s too many of us

Downsizing might happen but who knows.  If we do downsize who’s it going to be?  How many of us will go?  When will the managers tell us?  Do they already know who will be the one leaving?  Where will I go work?  These are questions people all over the country are asking, because companies are telling employees that there’s no money.  Oil is too expensive.  Health care is too expensive.  Your $50,000 a year salary is too expensive.

Employers shed 159,000 jobs in September, the ninth consecutive month of job losses and a sign that the U.S. economic downturn continues, the government reported Friday.  Almost every company in the world is trying to do more with less.  The blame is high oil prices, high taxes on businesses, and in my humble opinion, crazy awesome perks for executives.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of the few that believes you have to pay executives a shit ton of money to get them to do their job properly.  Most of them work 70 or 80 hours a week.  They get phone calls almost the entire time they’re not at work, and a majority of them actually care about the companies they lead.  So yeah, you’ve got to pay them properly.  If the Dallas Cowboys got a bunch of football players that only made $50,000 a year, then the Dallas Cowboys would suck.  You’ve gotta pay millions for someone worth a shit.  Same in the corporate world, you’ve gotta pay millions to get someone worth a shit.  Alright so they should get paid, but look at what else they get.  When they get fired most of them, as a parting gift get a few million dollars instead of a kick in the arse out the door like most of us would get.  How is that fair?  You get fired and hit the lottery on the same day?  What the fuck.  Golden parachutes.  That’s what they’re called, and they’re awesome if you’re lucky enough to have one.

Here’s what former Delta CEO Ronald Allen got when he was fired.
• $500,000-per-year consulting contract for up to eight years, paid quarterly in advance ($4 million total).
• $4,586,515 lump-sum cash for severance payment, health benefits and incentive awards that were to be paid for 1997.
• $765,600-per-year pension, starting in 1997.
• Vesting of 298,000 stock options and restricted stock.  He netted $6.3 million in the 1997 fiscal year after acquiring 89,000 shares, with remaining stock options then valued at $13 million.
• $210,000 in legal fees to prepare his retirement agreement.
• $25,000 per year fee as “advisory director” on Delta’s board.
• Flight privileges for life for Allen and his family.
• An office and a full-time secretary in Buckhead’s 24-floor Monarch Tower for 10 years. First- year cost was $91,099.
• $408,766 initial cost to design, construct and furnish the office.
• Membership for 10 years in the Commerce Club of Atlanta.
• Membership for 10 years in the East Lake Golf Club, as long as Delta maintains a corporate membership.
• Company car.
• $25,565 for residential security systems.

Holy fuck!  Are you kidding me?

Here’s what Clear Channel Communications does for their executives.  They have a rolling 7 year contract that renews everyday.  If you get fired at anytime, Clear Channel guarantees you salary and bonuses for the rest of the contract.  7 YEARS!

Ok, so yeah let’s pay the executives what they’re worth.  While they’re working.  When they get fired let them find another job just like everyone else.  It’s a hard pill to swallow knowing that someone’s job is in jeopardy because the company would like to save 50 or 60k per year.  $60,000 is nothing.  A drop in the bucket compared to what almost every major company is prepared to offer their top executives upon termination.

So next time you buy and airline ticket, or pay for advertising space on the radio just know that your money is going to some executive prick’s goddamn golf club membership.

Polar Bears

So I see this commercial on TV, in the commercial there’s a middle aged woman with stringy hair wearing very little make up even though she should be wearing make up. She’s really sad and judging by the background music and her solemn tone, this is a serious commercial about serious things. Well the commercial is about something serious. Something very serious. Global warming. Polar bears dying. Ice melting. It’s horrible. After watching this commercial I’m ready to sell both cars, and the house, move to Eugene Oregon to live in a tent in the middle of an old growth forest only emerging to protest loggers or to buy hummus. Ok back to the commercial, the woman goes on to say that the entire polar bear population will be gone in our children’s lifetime.
Now I’m not sure where those facts come from or what the facts are. It’s hard to tell because there are so many different studies done by different scientists that have completely different results. Those to the far right would have you believe there’s no such thing as global warming. It’s made up. They’ll tell you that 11 of the 13 polar bear populations in Alaska are stable or increasing in number. They’ll tell you there’s no threat to the polar bear’s existence. They’ll say polar bears are so abundant you can’t even drive in most Alaskan cities because of hundreds of polar bears just milling about in the streets. Is that all right? If it