NPD 3.21.09

*President Obama sent a message to the Iranian people, welcoming in Nowruz which, to my understanding, is a "Helllllllllo spring!" ceremony.

*Multiple Republican governors are saying they will not accept federal dollars to improve their economies. Add Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons to the list that includes Sarah Palin, Mark Sanford, and Bobby Jindal. What makes Gibbons different is that he is not a 2012 presidential hopeful. Perhaps, then, he's at least not politically motivated like the other three.

*The House of Representatives passed a bill that will tax AIG bonus-getters at 90%. There seem to be lots of holes in the proposal, one of which is that many of the bonuses went to non-Americans. Whoops. The things that gets me about his whole mess is that they were "retention bonuses." Who wants to retain these folks who ran the company into the ground!?

*A longer post about this will come, but how about the White House Garden!?!? Hooray!

Choked Up With Anger Here

Barack (first name basis) gave a speech yesterday about the AIG bonuses in the midst of which he coughs and says, "Excuse me, I'm choked up with anger here." I'm pretty sure he's joking, what do you think? Either way, I lolled.



You can skip to 2:40 and still get the effect. The first part is Obama explaining why it's ridiculous that they are receiving bonuses while overseeing a failed company.

AIG

AIG, one of the biggest financial institutions in the world, received $85 billion last fall in order to stave off failure. They are now receiving another $35 billion for the same purpose. At the same time, however, they are paying out $165 million in bonuses. Bonuses! There is general outrage about this not because of the total amount (it's merely pocket change compared to other stimulus and bailout dollars) but because employees who ran a company into the ground are receiving extra financial compensation for failing. If the local bakery employees suck, the bakery folds and they lose their job. If the massive multinational corporation employees suck, they get a bonus!

Non-Paper Daily, 3.18.09

Not much of a daily today, but a few things that have been happening:

*A group of Democratic Senators is forming to "restrain the influence of party liberals in the White House and Capitol Hill." Democrats are notorious for sabotaging their power for the sake of looking good, so looks like here we go. This is ridiculous. For once we have a chance to pass meaningful healthcare, energy, and climate legislation and these idiots want to solidify their power. Anger.

*George W. is keeping any criticism he has of Obama quiet. Good for him. There is a long tradition of former presidents refraining from criticizing their successor and it looks like Bush will honor that. I didn't agree with him often, but on this I do.

*For St. Patrick's Day, Michelle Obama had the White House fountain water dyed green. That sounds fun.

*A space shuttle with teachers on it recently docked at the International Space Station. There is hope for me as a teacher to get into space! They are installing a photovoltaic system and then taking off so that two Russian cosmonauts can move in. The International Space Station is getting pretty big... I wonder when Hal will show up.

*The federal government (this means you!) owns 80% of AIG. That's a lot. This also means you are the primary sponsor of Manchester United, leaders of the English Premier League! There's a silver lining to everything.