All the big boys from AIG to Detroit are bleating in unified agony that the socialist Obama is exerting too much control over their respective fiefdoms. Re-writing one contract after another, they warn that this kind of oversight and responsibility will surely doom America.
And they know a lot about dooming America.
They're the ones who, at will, unilaterally change the terms of your credit card agreement.
Call your mortgage due if they feel your home isnt kept up appropriately or is worth less than the market could sustain.
Tell you that the problem with your car isnt covered under that bumper to bumper warranty you paid extra for.
Refuse to pay your medical costs because it throws off their actuarials.
Tap into YOUR pension to pay for THEIR private jets.
Yeah, these titans of knowing and doing what's good for America are in one exemplary position to be crying foul.
The Divine Right of Kings died in 1215.
Kinda gives ya half a stalk don't it?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Snuggie Crawl
Just saw this - Snuggie Crawls are sweeping the nation. If I'd known they were available at Walgreens, I wouldnt have wasted $120 on 'shipping and handling'!
Those zanny kids!!!
Life's a beach
Yesterday was a gorgeous day. So I packed up my stuff and spent it at the beach. Now sadly, the beaches in northern California aren’t as hospitable as the ones in southern California..but they are still beaches just the same.
Nothing so soul-enriching as the beach.
A sign warned that smoking on the beach now carries a $200 fine. Well, smoking cigarrettes anyway. Just to be safe, I’ll opt for brownies next time. With my favorite music playing, the sun warming my skin and the sand and waves warming my soul, I spent the day embracing my blessings.
What luck. What good fortune. Only last week, my doctor gave me a clean bill of health. I live in a city where the only concern people have about my private life is whether or not I smoke. I have the good fortune of family that I love and that I find to be the most interesting and entertaining people I know. I have friends who are, 2nd only to my family, the most intelligent and interesting people I know. It doesn’t snow where I live, and when it rains, it’s moody and romantic, not dark and dreary. I have a job (for the moment anyway) that aside from some petty micromangement by tiny little caesars, is a dream job – a few blocks walk from my home, affords me the opportunity to be out of the office all day, learning about other businesses and helping them STAY in business – and the pay is fine.
I spread my blanket on the beach not far from a guy who was tapping away on a laptop. How great to sit on the beach and tap tap tap away, whether for work or play. I don’t think I’ll take mine to the beach next time, but it seemed like a possiblity that would do well poolside anyway.
Sometimes it’s good to just ignore the troubles in the world and all the gloom and doom people want to burden you with. And for those times, there’s no better place than at the beach. Kinda makes living close to one worth the high cost of living. Because it is living, and damn, what a life!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
That'd be in the butt Bob
As the noose of depression tightens around our necks everyday, and the media gleefully straps on sandwhich boards heralding “the end is near”, there are occasions that ellicit simultaneous guffaws and reassurance all at once.
Taken from inter-office communications between a sales rep trying to straighten out a billing problem, and our ESL crew in Houston who, not having mastered the language, somehow believes they’ve mastered book-keeping:
"Darien,
We understand the invoices do not match because that is what they explained to us. That is why we contacted you to resolve. We can not resolve any discrepancies. Only you can resolve a discrepancy. This department does not enter ads. That is done through the sales office. It was always believe that we bill in the rears because of the delivery. I’m just as surprised as you are why it was billed early. Any idea who did that? "
Yes, you read that right. Darien, among the most capable of account executives, attempting to reconcile her client’s account, was kind enough to share this gem.
And so, if the ESL wizard in accounting has a job, really, are you all that concerned about keeping/finding one yourself??
I mean, I know w’s fuzzy math has had us ALL taking it in the rears for sometime now. But after reading this, the answer to his seminal question ‘is our children being edumacated’ is finally answered once and for all. There are not only school children being left behind, there are entire corporations being left behind. Sadly, they’ll blame everyone but the minimum wage book-keeper who finds accounting to be acceptably a pain in the ass. And they’ll hand them billions. And then they’ll hand them billions more. And when they’ve stashed that in Bimini and Dubai, they’ll hand them billions more.
THAT, however, is fodder for a future rant.
Stay tuned.
Taken from inter-office communications between a sales rep trying to straighten out a billing problem, and our ESL crew in Houston who, not having mastered the language, somehow believes they’ve mastered book-keeping:
"Darien,
We understand the invoices do not match because that is what they explained to us. That is why we contacted you to resolve. We can not resolve any discrepancies. Only you can resolve a discrepancy. This department does not enter ads. That is done through the sales office. It was always believe that we bill in the rears because of the delivery. I’m just as surprised as you are why it was billed early. Any idea who did that? "
Yes, you read that right. Darien, among the most capable of account executives, attempting to reconcile her client’s account, was kind enough to share this gem.
And so, if the ESL wizard in accounting has a job, really, are you all that concerned about keeping/finding one yourself??
I mean, I know w’s fuzzy math has had us ALL taking it in the rears for sometime now. But after reading this, the answer to his seminal question ‘is our children being edumacated’ is finally answered once and for all. There are not only school children being left behind, there are entire corporations being left behind. Sadly, they’ll blame everyone but the minimum wage book-keeper who finds accounting to be acceptably a pain in the ass. And they’ll hand them billions. And then they’ll hand them billions more. And when they’ve stashed that in Bimini and Dubai, they’ll hand them billions more.
THAT, however, is fodder for a future rant.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
NO PARKING
It’s often said that society breaks down when people park where they’re not supposed to. OK, so I’m the one that often says it – no harm injecting a little ad populum to bolster one’s argument (is there?) –
Last night, I came home to find that someone had parked their car IN our private garage, blocking not just one (mine) but THREE parking spaces. Really, WHO DOES THIS???
No note telling which apt he/she was in so they could be asked politely to rectify their rectum stretching. I did notice a baby car seat in the back with baby blankets and toys. I suppose the entitled parents of that little bundle of joy somehow belive their convenience trumps the social contract.
The only consolation I managed, was watching the rain outside, and knowing how expensive it is to replace windshield wipers on Audis.
Last night, I came home to find that someone had parked their car IN our private garage, blocking not just one (mine) but THREE parking spaces. Really, WHO DOES THIS???
No note telling which apt he/she was in so they could be asked politely to rectify their rectum stretching. I did notice a baby car seat in the back with baby blankets and toys. I suppose the entitled parents of that little bundle of joy somehow belive their convenience trumps the social contract.
The only consolation I managed, was watching the rain outside, and knowing how expensive it is to replace windshield wipers on Audis.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Gee...Whoda Thunk it?
Whoever could have seen THIS coming?
Pelosi appeals to the Department of Justice to allow Hearst to violate anti-trust laws in the name of keeping ‘news’ alive:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/16/MNIA16GCBO.DTL&tsp=1
In the first round of negotiations between Hearst and the Unions, I urged that Hearst not only show us the specific savings that would be realized in their draconian union-busting amendments to our contract, but that they open their books to us (Hearst is a private company, not publically owned, and has to show their books to no one – questionably even the IRS) to allow us to see this “more than a million dollar a week loss” they were claiming.
The request was denied.
That night at the membership meeting, I suggested to the membership that Hearst was in fact NOT losing money at all – they were simply seeing diminishing profits. The claim of crushing losses was nothing more than fear mongering and positioning. If they could scare the union into submission, and scare the dept. of justice into allowing them to gain a monopoly in The Bay Area – or allow Media News Group (of whom they have part ownership) to have a monopoly, then all would be lovely at San Simeon.
I was not only pooh poohed by the room, I was later chastised by the rest of the Guild Executive Committee and told to either walk in lock-step with their party line or just keep my mouth shut altogether.
I resigned my position.
No sooner had the Union surrendered to Hearst’s tactics, than that paragon of legislative integrity, Nancy Pelosi, began her role as Hearst’s latest stooge, and began appealing for anti-trust exemptions.
The sad thing is, to whom do we turn to expose these crimes? The Chronicle? The corporate media? Congress?
Randy Shilts (a former and deceased Chronicle reporter) asked the question in his ground-breaking expose on AIDS, “And the Band Played On”: ‘When doctors become bankers, to whom will we turn for our healthcare?’
And when the 4th estate becomes one with our government, to whom will we turn to expose their conspiracy?
The blogosphere.
Pelosi appeals to the Department of Justice to allow Hearst to violate anti-trust laws in the name of keeping ‘news’ alive:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/16/MNIA16GCBO.DTL&tsp=1
In the first round of negotiations between Hearst and the Unions, I urged that Hearst not only show us the specific savings that would be realized in their draconian union-busting amendments to our contract, but that they open their books to us (Hearst is a private company, not publically owned, and has to show their books to no one – questionably even the IRS) to allow us to see this “more than a million dollar a week loss” they were claiming.
The request was denied.
That night at the membership meeting, I suggested to the membership that Hearst was in fact NOT losing money at all – they were simply seeing diminishing profits. The claim of crushing losses was nothing more than fear mongering and positioning. If they could scare the union into submission, and scare the dept. of justice into allowing them to gain a monopoly in The Bay Area – or allow Media News Group (of whom they have part ownership) to have a monopoly, then all would be lovely at San Simeon.
I was not only pooh poohed by the room, I was later chastised by the rest of the Guild Executive Committee and told to either walk in lock-step with their party line or just keep my mouth shut altogether.
I resigned my position.
No sooner had the Union surrendered to Hearst’s tactics, than that paragon of legislative integrity, Nancy Pelosi, began her role as Hearst’s latest stooge, and began appealing for anti-trust exemptions.
The sad thing is, to whom do we turn to expose these crimes? The Chronicle? The corporate media? Congress?
Randy Shilts (a former and deceased Chronicle reporter) asked the question in his ground-breaking expose on AIDS, “And the Band Played On”: ‘When doctors become bankers, to whom will we turn for our healthcare?’
And when the 4th estate becomes one with our government, to whom will we turn to expose their conspiracy?
The blogosphere.
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