What’s so Shocking about Gov Blagojevich?

“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Fitzgerald said as he detailed the breathtakingly brash display of pay-to-play political machinations detailed in the 76-page affidavit against Blagojevich.

“We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree, and we wanted to stop it,” said Fitzgerald, who dubbed the accusations against the two-term governor “a truly new low.”

That’s how US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald described the charges against Illinois Governor Blagojevich.  Yes what he is doing is illegal and wrong but is it really shocking and a “truly new low”?  I don’t think it is at all.  Let’s look at some of the things Blagojevich was caught saying:

First on the empty senate seat:

“I’ve got this thing and it’s f- – -ing golden and uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for f- – -in’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it,”

“I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain,” he allegedly said on tape.

“You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself.”

Everyone in politics or half a brain knows that this is a true statement.  Having the power to name that senate seat is just that power.   He would be stupid to just give it away and not use that as leverage.  He’s not going to be governor forever.

Second, on him wanting to make money:

“I want to make money”

Looking for a hefty salaried job for himself at a foundation or group linked to labor unions – even musing that Obama supporter and billionaire Warren Buffett could be coerced into kicking in millions to create an outfit where Blagojevich could work.

Any of that shocking to you?  That happens all the time in politics.  You don’t get into politics for the salary..you get in to make connections to make money when you get out or while in office.

Third, on his wife:

 Seeking to get his wife Patti named to a corporate board where she could earn a stipend up to $150,000

Yeah that follows the same rule as above.  How many corporate boards have ex governors, senators, etc on them?  And yes their spouses are on these as well…easier to hide.

Fourth, campaign funds:

Pushing to exchange funding for local programs in exchange for campaign cash

This is laughable to me…this happens at every level of government and ALL the time.  Again, I’m not saying it’s right but let’s be adults here.   So in my opinion none of this is shockng or “truly new low”.  It’s politics as usual.  My real question is how did he get caught and why?  Who did he piss off?  My guess is that someone was going after Obama and had to settle for him.   I’m all for sending this jerkoff to jail but let’s not play favorites here…don’t stop here, get the rest of them.

Dow Falls Because of Consumer Spending? Yeah Right

The headlines are saying the dow is falling because of consumer spending and the fact that we are in a recession.  Yeah right.  Sure, like that info wasn’t already known.  

Gee guys, you think the real reason could be ummm…The terrorist attack in India!  Let’s see a financial center in a country gets attacked….what did you think was going to happen?  Plus, how many US companies have offshore centers there? 

Now, you can see why the dow is truly down today.

Isn’t it time for normal relations with Cuba?

How long do we need to shun that country?  Does anyone really think our current policy is a good one? 

Russia would like to search for oil off the coast of Cuba.   (notice it reads Russia and not Soviet Union) That makes sense.  Not having normal relations with a tiny country 90 miles from your border doesn’t.  It’s not like Cuba is this big badass that we need to be afraid of.  Are we afraid their cigars will turn everyone into a socialist?  To me, it’s one of those policies that has just continued on with no one raising their hand and saying, “this isn’t working!  Let’s try something new!” 

Fidel has resigned.  The Soviet Union is gone.  Turn the page America.   Don’t you think if Americans were visiting Cuba and talking to Cubans on a daily basis that maybe, just maybe Cubans would move towards being a democracy?  It’s like we have this new video game system and instead of showing it to our neighbor, we keep it locked away from them and refuse to play their own archaic system.   How will they know what they are missing without seeing it firsthand?

Another Monsanto Controversy

There are few companies as controversial as Monsanto (Donald Rumsfeld anyone?).  Some accuse the company of nothing short of murder and others claim their innocence with just as much passion.   I ran across this story about the GM seeds and their effect in India. 

Shankara, like millions of other Indian farmers, had been promised previously unheard of harvests and income if he switched from farming with traditional seeds to planting GM seeds instead.

Beguiled by the promise of future riches, he borrowed money in order to buy the GM seeds. But when the harvests failed, he was left with spiralling debts – and no income.

So Shankara became one of an estimated 125,000 farmers to take their own life as a result of the ruthless drive to use India as a testing ground for genetically modified crops.

There are arguments to be made on both sides but I think the one thing that can’t be argued is that the poor and desperate have and will be used as guinea pigs because there is no one to protect them and thus no real downside from a monetary standpoint.  (When drugs expire in a pharmacy and deemed not safe for Americans, they are removed from the shelves and sent back to be sold to the 3rd world countries).   Monsanto and companies like it are completely protected regardless of whether they are wrong or right.  And with total protection comes recklessness as there are no consequences…

Bailouts – Changing the Variables of Business

Before the Government goes bailing everyone out, they should consider the guys they don’t have to bailout and the impact it will have on their businesses. 

Note:  forgive this simplistic scenario but you’ll get the overall point.  Let’s say you own a bank and you chose not to give out risky mortgages.  And let’s say you also chose not to buy up other banks risky mortgages.  You also choose not to invest your profits into mortgage bonds because you don’t know which are risky and which aren’t. 

If you were a bank and you chose not to do those three things then you would be called an “idiot” by nearly everyone in the industry between say 2003 – 2007.  Most of the other banks you were competing against were making millions of dollars on loans you refused to make.  But, let’s say you managed to keep your bank open and were still turning a profit, not at the levels of other banks but still a profit.

Now, it’s 2008 and you look pretty smart.  You are still turning a profit while your competitors are hurting and even going out of business which means their customers are coming to your bank.  Great you are set!  Wait, your competitors have hired lobbyist to fly to Washington to try and get the government to help them out.  The government is broke so they say no but your lobbyists are smart.  They start scaring everyone into thinking that if their clients fail then the whole system will fail and everyone (meaning voters) will suffer and blame those in congress.   They also get newspaper columnists to write articles scaring the public into believing this scenario.  Pointing out that “Joe Blah Blah” is at risk of losing his job and his money.

So Congress jumps on board.  Now, the government is pouring money into your competitors even though they made bad business decisions.   Your competitors survive and the bailout makes potential customers and investors more likely to actually throw their money into your competitors instead of your bank.  Guess what?  The Variables just changed and you were penalized for not being an “idiot”. 

You go out of business and your competitors gobble up your bank only to make the same mistake again in 5 years.  The executive boards and managers of those banks avoid any real damage and go on to repeat their mistake once again.  After all, they made millions and when they started to face losses…government bailed them out.  What’s the downside? 

Or take that scenario and say you are an automaker or a builder or an airline.

Revisiting Georgia and Russia

I saw very little of this coverage in the mainstream news so I thought I would give it some time here since I wrote several posts on the conflict a few months ago.

Russia responds to the NY Times article:

Moscow’s U.N. envoy praised The New York Times on Thursday for challenging Georgia on assertions that Russia started their brief war in August, saying U.S. media had finally got the story right.

Georgian Claims on Russian War Called into Question:

Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression.

And here’s an Opinion Piece:

The August war in the Caucasus was started by the Georgians under a false pretext on the night of Aug. 7. Civilians and Russian peacekeepers were attacked.

The Wade Phillips 3-4

What happened to it?  Here are some quotes from Tank Johnson:

“Bottom line is we are trying to do too many things. We are a talented enough group that we can do two or three things and beat the stew out of people,” Johnson said. “I think less is more when it comes to the talent we have. When you have so many talented players, give them a few things to do and give them a chance to get really good at it.”

Didn’t they hire Wade because they thought Bill Parcells defense was too simple and predictable?  I remember people saying that his defense would just line up and try to beat you by being physical.  Their first responibility was to stop the run and rushing the passer came second.  So now, the team is switching back to Parcells style.   Then why did we hire Wade and Stewart? 

Read this quote shortly after Wade was hired:

Last season, players voiced their concerns about the direction of the Cowboys defense. What bothered them? Not enough blitzing, creativity or positive results, they said.

And another quote from the preseason in 07

This defense will attempt to create havoc in any number of ways. The predictable 3-4 that we saw under coach Bill Parcells has been scrapped.

“I’ll let you guys decide from what you’re seeing if this defense is more creative,” said defensive end Marcus Spears, who had a fumble recovery that set up a touchdown.

“Everyone’s got a chance to make some plays. That’s what this defense allows you to do. It’s a totally different style from what we’ve played here in the past. You’ll see a lot of guys moving around, you’ll see blitzes from the weak side if the strong side isn’t working. That’s just what this defense is designed to do.”

Seems to me that the players, fans, and ownership wanted this new defense and now that it’s not working, they want to quit and go back to more of a Parcells defense.  Lots of excuses by those defensive players and not many plays.  Don’t make things simpler for them Wade…make them play better.

Why don’t the Networks show the Debates?

Not the presidential debates between McCain and Obama but the primary presidential debates.  They should replay those debates and if they wanted to save time they could just replay the McCain and Obama soundbites. 

Wouldn’t that make sense?  That would make some great TV.  Let’s hear what these guys were saying during the primaries.  Isn’t that a good indicator of how well they make decisions and how well they understand what’s going on in our country? 

I haven’t seen any clips from the primary season and I haven’t seen anyone put up clips of what these guys were saying then compared to what they are saying now.  It’s as if everyone just accepts the fact that they change their stories and message after just a few months. 

Also, after every debate I see these stories from the “fact checkers” that basically tell you how much of what is said in the debates by the candidates is true and which are not. Why does this have to come the day after?  Why can’t we call them on their BS during the debate?  It’s not hard to check those numbers and facts in a few minutes.  I think we have put up with enough BS over the past 8 years and I’d like to see us demand more from an election.

Where is all the Opium?

I missed this story when it first came out but I find it pretty interesting considering all that is happening in the world markets right now. 

It’s a mystery that has got British law enforcement officials and others across the planet scratching their heads. Put bluntly, enough heroin to supply the world’s demand for years has simply disappeared.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) describes the situation as “a time bomb for public health and global security”.

I really don’t have much else to add as I don’t have the answers.  I have my own theories but they are just that.  I’ll just say that we know that Afghanistan is producing more opium this year than even last year (when the numbers went so high)…but where is it?  That’s a lot of temptation and a lot of power within the reach of a lot of groups, both good guys and bad guys.

Post Dallas Cowboys Game Thoughts

Here’s your Monday Report for the underachieving:

• I told you Brad Johnson sucks and the Rams dropped 3 INT’s yesterday.  It could have been a lot worse.  He threw high too many times and he has zero zip on his throws probably more due to his lack of leg strength at this point than lack of arm strength.
• Marion Barber has fumbled 5 times in 7 games. That should worry everybody.  Romo has fumbled 6 times in 6 games.  In the last 8 games Barber has started we are 4-4. 
• I’m going to say it because no one else seems to: Zach Thomas is not good.  Give me Akin back anyday.  Zach is small, old, and slow at this point in his career. 
• That team really quit yesterday and as long as Jerry is the one that chews them out then it won’t work.  They need a coach to get their focus back. 
• Nice job of creating another distraction by dressing Romo as the #2 QB.  If he can’t play then he’s the #3, if he is healthy enough for #2 then he starts.  Pretty simple.
• I have  strong feeling that Galloway gets healthy this week and he and Antonio Bryant are going to put up huge numbers.

And one non-Cowboys thought:

Shut up John Kitna.  You are a below average qb who turns the ball over too much to whine all the time.  Orlovsky (as stupid as that safety was) hasn’t thrown a pick in the last two games and the Lions at least didn’t get blown out both weeks.   Your Career #’s of 152 TD’s and 151 INT’s speaks for itself.