February 15, 2009

Wanna Impress Me? Change The Spread

Over the past few weeks, we've been treated to an endless litany of CEOs, executives and other suits parading before the cameras and Congress, telling us how they've learned their lessons, how they're going to change and help the American people, how they're working to help the nation in our time of need.

It's all a load of crap.

We keep hearing about how the bank and automotive CEOs are going to forgo their bonuses or salaries for the next year in order to help their companies. None of it impresses me.

None of them -- not a single one of them -- told us how many of their hirelings and underlings are making six and seven-figure bonuses, or how many of them are making seven-figure salaries. So the notion of standing before the cameras and telling the world about how they won't be taking bonuses or or how they won't be taking salaries means absolutely nothing.

If they want to impress me -- no, scratch that, if they want to impress the nation, then have the gumption to open up the salary process. Show us that the spread between the highest paid person in the company and the lowest paid person in the company is $500,000.

That's right, the entire spread -- from the CEO to the guy in the mailroom -- half a million dollars.

Now THAT would impress me.

That would show me that the companies are serious about making significant change in order to save itself and working to save the nation in the process.

And in addition, that would impress America. That would show the people of this country that while the companies are still concerned with remaining a for-profit concern, they are looking at an investment in the future. They would save thousands, no, millions of dollars themselves, while moving forward.

The sacrifice they'd have to make? Simple -- the 4th vice president in charge of paperweights might not get to have his country club membership paid. He might have to drive a Volvo instead of a Benz. Oh, well.

The future is worth it.

Not only that, but once America sees that a company is forward thinking and aggresive like that, they'll beat a path to their door. They want customers? Show everyone that they are serious about being a competitive, honest and fair player in the game. That means hiring Americans, and building their products in America. That means having customer service centers in the US, not in India. That means paying attention to quality and customer care. That means playing fair.

Unfortunately, the companies that have danced before Congress these past few months won't do it. They don't have the stones. They don't have the wherewithal to be that kind of forward-thinking concern. They are greedy. They are selfish. They feel that the American public is stupid and won't care if they don't do it.

And unless someone gets them out of the way, they may be the ruination of this nation.

This has been a bumpy ride. It's about to get bumpier.

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January 23, 2009

Somebody's gotta be the responsible ones here...



Somebody's gotta keep an eye on this bug-eyed monster before it devours us all.

And after bailing out the banks and the auto industry, SOMEBODY's gotta hold the political morons on both sides of the aisle accountable.

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December 12, 2008

About the crash of the auto bailout...


Oblivion roller coaster at Alton Towers, England

I think Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) may have learned his lesson this time -- and just as well, as I didn't have enough time to call and let his office know this time.

Voter anger over Chambliss' support of the Wall Street/TARP bailout back in September nearly cost him his Senate seat in the November elections, and certainly was instrumental in forcing a runoff between he and Democratic challenger Jim Martin in early December (Chambliss won the runoff, by the way).

During the TARP bailout talks back in September, I called his office and let them know that I was against it. The clerk asked me whether I thought that was wise (what did she do that for!?). I told her then that if we gave Wall Street this money that they or someone else would be back with their hands out within months. Well, here we are.

I figure someone else will be next -- the airlines? (or were their bankruptcies enough to wisen them up) No, how about the newspapers and "old media?" After all, Tribune filed this week (which includes the Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, WGN and my beloved Cubbies), and there are published reports that the Detroit Free Press will drop to a two-day-a-week delivery -- Thursday/Sunday -- shortly after first of the year.

We can't continue to print money to continue to hold up this house of cards. It's all gonna come down, and the longer we put it off, the worse it'll be when it falls.

It's gonna be a long, hard, dark ride. Fasten your seatbelts and hang on.

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September 08, 2008

Fasten your seatbelts

Apparently, John McCain is keeping Sarah Palin on an awful short leash.

The two of them are continuing to campaign together -- although, ABC's Charlie Gibson landed the first one-on-one with Yukon Barbie the GOP VP-in-waiting, which will take place over a couple of days in Alaska later this week.

I'm no big fan of Palin's thus far, and am pretty fearful that we may see an implosion of Stockdale-like proportions by time we get to the debates.

GOP pundits and the McCain camp are touting the post-convention bounce as if it's the be-all-end-all here, but keep in mind that historically, the post-convention bounces on both sides are generally erased by debate time.

Fasten your seatbelts. It ain't over yet....

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August 29, 2008

If it's true, then just damn...



If this is even remotely close to true, then the entire game is over before it's begun.

In addition, with an entire long weekend (and despite the RNC starting Monday) to percolate in the blogosphere -- just damn.

I hope this is wrong, and that no one in the McCain camp was so clueless as to not check out everything in Palin's background with a fine toothed comb.

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The GOP ticket is set



Sarah Palin is governor of Alaska and in her first term. The 44-year-old has a reputation as a hard-lined conservative, but to listen to her speech this afternoon, I have to wonder if McCain and company have lost their collective minds.

At this rate, the VP debate may turn into one of those cringe-worthy moments in television...

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June 12, 2008

DNC Protestors Afraid To Poop

Activists set to protest at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August are running scared. There is word of a crowd control device that has been nicknamed a "crap cannon," to be used against them.

Also called “Brown Note,” it is believed to be an infrasound frequency that debilitates a person by making them defecate involuntarily…

Dr. Roger Schwenke - an expert acoustician who appeared on the Discovery Channel’s “Mythbusters” in 2004 to test the phenomenon - told FOXNews.com there is no scientific evidence that proves such frequencies cause involuntary defecation…

But Schwenke acknowledged the low-frequency exposure did cause an adverse effect [in an experiment]. Several people — including himself — reported “abdominal discomfort,” he said, “which was easily alleviated by moving a moderate distance away from the source.”

Now, if they're serious, they'll lock up all the port-a-pottys at the same time...

(Hat tip to Hot Air & Peach Pundit)

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February 04, 2005

Janeane Garofalo: Inked Fingers = Nazi Salute

Air America talk show host and actress Janeane Garofalo continues to sink deeper into mediocrity, this time with a shrill declaration on MSNBC's After Hours that the members of the House and Senate that raised their fingers after having dipped them into blue ink, in solidarity with the voters of Iraq, are like Nazis rasing their arms at Adolph Hitler.

"The inked fingers and the position of them, which is gonna be a 'Daily Show' photo already, of them signaling in this manner [does the Nazi salute], as if they have solidarity with the Iraqis who braved physical threats against their lives to vote as if somehow these inked-fingered Republicans have something to do with that. And also, the bit of theater about the very distraught parents of the soldier who had died, the point is not if this was a real moment, if it was staged, if it was PR. The point is, is those parents and their son were misled about why that young man went into Iraq. And when he wrote a letter to his mother saying, 'It's my job to protect you now,' protect her from what? The imminent threat of Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction? So don't bring up, 'Is it helpful if the Democrats make some noise' when they're being lied to. That's not helpful, that's not helpful to pundits like you maybe, but it is not helpful to the country when a Republican President and his partisan Republican Party continue to perpetuate myth and dishonesty on the country."
Of course the left lapped it up.

Somebody needs to e-mail Janeane and let her know that she stopped being funny quite awhile ago.

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February 03, 2005

AIM: "Ward Churchill is not a real AmerIndian."

The American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council in Minneapolis issued a release this week pointing out that Universtiy of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill, who has earned the ire of many Americans by calling the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks "little Eichmanns" (referring to World War II Nazi thug Adolph Eichmann), is not a true American Indian.

ChurchillÂ’s statement that these people deserved what happened to them, and calling them little Eichmanns, comparing them to Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who implemented Adolf HitlerÂ’s plan to exterminate European Jews and others, should be condemned by all.

The sorry part of this is Ward Churchill has fraudulently represented himself as an Indian, and a member of the American Indian Movement, a situation that has lifted him into the position of a lecturer on Indian activism. He has used the American Indian MovementÂ’s chapter in Denver to attack the leadership of the official American Indian Movement with his misinformation and propaganda campaigns.

Ward Churchill has been masquerading as an Indian for years behind his dark glasses and beaded headband. He waves around an honorary membership card that at one time was issued to anyone by the Keetoowah Tribe of Oklahoma. Former President Bill Clinton and many others received these cards, but these cards do not qualify the holder a member of any tribe. He has deceitfully and treacherously fooled innocent and naïve Indian community members in Denver, Colorado, as well as many other people worldwide. Churchill does not represent, nor does he speak on behalf of the American Indian Movement.

On a related note, word came out of Boulder, CO this morning that Churchill's pick-up truck was vandalized this week with swastikas painted on it.
The vandals painted the swastikas on the tailgate of Churchill's Chevrolet pickup late Tuesday or early Wednesday, said Lt. Phil West, a sheriff's spokesman. He said deputies told him that Churchill's truck was parked in front of his home when the vandals struck.

Also Wednesday, Churchill turned over to deputies copies of "hate mail" he said he had received. Churchill told the deputies he already had provided the hate mail to the CU campus police, West said.

Though New York's Hamilton College has cancelled Churchill's speaking engagement, Churchill is set to speak at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO this coming Tuesday night. The speech is on his book, On the Justice of Roosting Chickens: Reflections on the Consequences of U.S. Imperial Arrogance and Criminality, and will be Tuesday night (2/8/05) at 7PM (MT) in the University Memorial Center's Glenn Miller Ballroom on the Boulder campus.

I'm sure local folks in the Denver area will make him feel welcome (rolling eyes).

(More coverage from Captain's Quarters)

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SOTU Follow-up: One picture says a thousand words

First lady Laura Bush, right, applauds as Safia Taleb al-Suhail, leader of the Iraqi Women's Political Council, back to camera, hugs Janet Norwood of Pflugerville, Texas, on Capitol Hill last night during President Bush's State of the Union address. Mrs. Norwood's son Sgt. Byron Norwood was killed in Iraq last November.

I'm not the only one who picked this as the money shot from the speech. Kevin at Wizbang beat me to the punch.

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February 02, 2005

Blue-stained GOP fingers at the State of the Union?

Neal Boortz began his talk show this morning by extolling the virtues of a caller's suggestion: that the Republicans in the House Chamber all dip their fingers in blue ink, and show said ink-stained fingers in a "V For Victory" sign to President Bush during the SOTU speech tonight.

Neal indicated that he had called the office of Speaker of the House Denny Hastert and placed the suggestion in the hands of the powers that be on Capitol Hill.

This afternoon, Wizbang has word that other like-minded folk are thinking in the same vein (or inkwell, as the case may be).

Rep. Bobby Jindal is planning to demonstrate solidarity with Iraqi voters by dipping a finger in purple ink before President Bush (news - web sites)'s State of the Union speech Wednesday.

In a letter to be circulated Wednesday among fellow lawmakers, Jindal, R-La., said he would have ink available for anyone attending the speech who wanted to make a gesture of support for Iraqis and "people throughout the world who seek freedom."

I wouldn't look for Ted "Jabba The Drunk" Kennedy, John "Ketchup Boy" Kerry, Nancy "Cruella DeVil" Pelosi or Barbara "Cryin' Woman" Boxer to have ink-stained fingers tonight.

But given her flip-flopping to the point of making herself physically ill this week, don't be surprised if Hillary "The Wicked Witch of Westchester" Clinton tried it. After all, she is still working on her transformation into a "more moderate" Presidential Candidate.

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February 01, 2005

US GI hostage story and photo faked; MSM falls for it--again

Looks like this was a fake, now that we've seen the photo, and kudos are due to A Small Victory, Wizbang and Free Republic for calling it.

It looks like this was a GI Joe-type doll on sale on the internet. Note the face, plus the gun and the fact that you don't see anyone's hands in the photo.

In addition, the Pentagon has verified that no soldiers are missing presently.

Score another one for the new media, as the MSM gets scammed again.

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Iraqi terrorists claim to have US GI hostage, threaten beheading

A posting on a jihadist website claims that an Iraqi terrorist group is holding a US soldier captive, and is threatening to decapitate him if male and female prisioners held in Iraq are not freed within 72 hours.

The posting, on a Web site that frequently carried militants' statements, included a photo of what appeared to be an American soldier in desert fatigues seated with his hands tied behind his back. A gun barrel was pointed at his head, and he is seated in front of a black banner emblazoned with the Islamic profession of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is His prophet."

A statement posted with the picture suggested the group was holding other soldiers.

"Our mujahadeen heroes of Iraq's Jihadi Battalion were able to capture American military man John Adam after killing a number of his comrades and capturing the rest," said the statement, signed by the "Mujahedeen Brigades."

"God willing, we will behead him if our female and male prisoners are not released from U.S. prisons within the maximum period of 72 hours from the time this statement has been released," the statement said.

The claim has not been formally verified yet.

UPDATE - 3P ET The Pentagon insists that no soldiers are missing, though this image, supposedly of a US soldier would otherwise disproove that notion.

I'll post video as soon as it's available.

UPDATE: I've got a link to the "fake GI" story here.

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January 31, 2005

Red States v. Blue States: Iraq style

Barking Moonbat has a new Red State/Blue State map that brings home the importance of this past weekend's elections in Iraq.

Take that, Jabba the Drunk Kennedy...

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May 23, 2004

Walkway collapses at Paris' CDG Airport; Michael Moore not the cause

A relatively new terminal building walkway -- it opened less than a year or so ago -- collapsed this morning at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, killing at least five people.

Full Of Crap had the best description, by far, of the carnage

Neither terrorism nor filmmaker Michael Moore being a gigantic fat fuck were suspected as causes. Mr. Moore will actually be traveling back to New York via FedEx Freight reinforced cargo container later this evening.
Of course, as most folks know by now, Jabba the Moore won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival this week, for his partisan political attack filmstrip Fahrenheit 9/11. The less I say about that, the better...

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May 20, 2004

You tryin' to tell us somethin', Chris?

Chris Muir has removed the banner asking readers to help get Day By Day syndicated. And this strip appears on the Day By Day page today...

Fascinating...

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May 19, 2004

First, let's kill all the lawyers...

Remember Sgt. Hasan Akbar of the 101st Airborne?

He was the ass-clown that lobbed a grenade into a tent full of sleeping GIs shortly after the war started last year.

Sgt. Asshat had just converted to Islam, and was distraught (at least according to his family) over not being liked by his fellow soldiers. So he blew them up.

Sgt. Butthole's civilian lawyers have already won a change of venue from Ft. Campbell, KY (where the 101st is located), to Ft. Bragg, NC. Now they want to change venue again.

They want to not only move it away from Ft. Bragg, but out of US Army jurisdiction. They claim that the publicity would unduly influence an Army judicial officer, and would prefer one from another branch of the service.

I prefer what Allan over at Barking Moonbat suggests.

What would General Patton do in this situation? Let's ask him .......

"General Patton, what should we do with this man?"

"TAKE THIS MENTALLY RETARDED CRETIN OUTSIDE, STAND HIM UP AGAINST THE WALLAND SHOOT HIS SORRY ASS! THEN SHOOT HIS FUCKING LAWYER TOO."

"Sir, yes sir!"

Case closed.

'Nuff said.

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