The Secret Bunker of Maltok 5

Ahh, Those Pesky AIG Bonuses - Repost

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Some great perspective on the "necessity" to pay the bonuses to the AIG wolves guarding the hen house.

March 18, 2009

Economic Scene

Paying Workers More to Fix Their Own Mess

We cannot attract and retain the best and the brightest talent to lead and staff the A.I.G. businesses — which are now being operated principally on behalf of American taxpayers — if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury.

— Edward Liddy, chief executive, American International Group

Ah, retention pay. It has been one of the great rationales for showering money on chief executives and bankers regardless of how well they are doing their jobs. It’s just that the specific rationale keeps changing.

In the booming 1990s, companies supposedly had to pay retention bonuses because executives had so many other job opportunities. There was a war raging — a war for talent, said McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm.

Then came the aftermath of Enron, when new scrutiny and regulations apparently made some chief executives wonder if they still wanted their jobs. “I’m thinking of actually getting out,” David D’Alessandro, the head of John Hancock Financial Services, reported hearing from one fellow chief executive. The antidote to such doubts? Retention pay, obviously.

Now comes Mr. Liddy, the government-appointed chief of A.I.G., defending multimillion-dollar bonus payments for the people who run the small division that brought down the company. If the government doesn’t let them have their money, they will walk away, Mr. Liddy says, and nobody else will know how to clean up their mess.

We’ll get to the merits of his argument in a moment, but it’s first worth considering the damage that the current system of corporate pay has wrought. The potential windfalls were so large that executives and bankers had an incentive to create rules that would reward them no matter what. The country is now living with the consequences.

So any attempt to build a new financial system, one that’s less susceptible to bubble, bust and bailout, will have to include a new approach to pay. Yes, the issue is thorny. Some past attempts to rein in pay have ended up being feckless or even counterproductive. But that is no reason to give up.

•

Nothing highlights the fiction of performance-based pay quite so well as retention bonuses. It turns out that, at least for chief executives, retention bonuses are almost entirely unnecessary.

Another Reason I Don't Eat Breakfast...

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:28:00 +0000

In case of rapture, watch this video.

Bailout Math

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:16:00 +0000

Makes things pretty crystal clear, I think!

Secret Plotters Plot Their Schemes From Back In The Day

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:22:00 +0000

The Plan: Secrets Circa 1984

You're Still Here?

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:33:00 +0000

Didn't we break up?

A Theme Song For Life

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:09:00 +0000

Wassup 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:10:00 +0000

A nice little motivational video to get y'all out to the polls this year.

A Wise Man Once Said...

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:28:00 +0000

"I just have to rely on the good judgment of the voters not to buy into these negative attack ads. Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads you don't have much of a vision for the future or you're not ready to articulate it."

-John McCain, 2000

Colin Powell Tells It Like It Is

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Guilty By Association - The Pot or the Kettle: Who's Blackest?

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:12:00 +0000

Trust Us! We Won't Abuse the Power You've Given Us... Ha! Ha! Fingers Crossed!

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:43:00 +0000

Yet another reason we might want to change up the 'old guard' in Washington this election. You know, that "freedom thing" that we might want to keep around for all of us and our children. This repost from ABC News.

-Maltok 5

Exclusive: Inside Account of U.S. Eavesdropping on Americans
U.S. Officers' "Phone Sex" Intercepted; Senate Demanding Answers
By BRIAN ROSS, VIC WALTER, and ANNA SCHECTER
Oct. 9, 2008

Despite pledges by President George W. Bush and American intelligence officials to the contrary, hundreds of US citizens overseas have been eavesdropped on as they called friends and family back home, according to two former military intercept operators who worked at the giant National Security Agency (NSA) center in Fort Gordon, Georgia.
Intercept operators allege the NSA is listening to citizens' phone calls.

Watch the video.

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), called the allegations "extremely disturbing" and said the committee has begun its own examination.

"We have requested all relevant information from the Bush Administration," Rockefeller said Thursday. "The Committee will take whatever action is necessary."

"These were just really everyday, average, ordinary Americans who happened to be in the Middle East, in our area of intercept and happened to be making these phone calls on satellite phones," said Adrienne Kinne, a 31-year old US Army Reserves Arab linguist assigned to a special military program at the NSA's Back Hall at Fort Gordon from November 2001 to 2003.

Kinne described the contents of the calls as "personal, private things with Americans who are not in any way, shape or form associated with anything to do with terrorism." [more]

Republicans for Obama in Ohio

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:15:00 +0000

Those Who Forget the Lessons of History Are Doomed...

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:09:00 +0000

...to repeat them.

Remember the last time the banking industry was so "F'd" up? Well, actually this is worse this time, but we shouldn't forget John McCain's eager participation in one of the worst scandals from previous history.

KEATING ECONOMICS: John McCain & The Making of a Financial Crisis

Lefties Lie Down With the Righties

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:33:00 +0000

Interesting how "conservative" Republicans and "liberal" Democrats are sort of together on this whole bailout thing.

And Now For Something Completely Different

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Ah, those randy Brits. This mindless little clip is good for washing the bad taste of bad politics and policies from your mouth.

Just mind the swallow...

Does Anyone Remember the Last Time McCain Helped Tank the Economy?

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:15:00 +0000

Well, if you were in Texas or pretty much any of the southwest states, it was pretty gnarly. This repost from Wonkette.

-Maltok 5

Reporters Also Can’t Remember McCain’s Banking Scandals

Here’s some hilarious video from outside a McCain campaign stop in Ohio, where some older people chant “Keating Five,” which was the great group of corrupt senators (including John McCain) who caused the last collapse of American finance, in the late ’80s. This teevee reporter has no idea what they’re talking about, of course. [Blogger Interrupted]

Repost - This Is Your Nation On White Privilege

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:59:00 +0000

This fellow has put into words a sad but true commentary on the underlying issues still facing this country as it continues to wrestle with the undercurrents of code speech, white indignation and the other dark corners of our history still affecting our present. Apparently he was once called a "leftist extremist" by that godfather of centrists, our own ex KKK member, David Duke. In that context, it sounds like a badge of honor.

-Maltok 5

September, 14 2008

By Wise, Tim
Tim Wise's ZSpace Page
Join ZSpace

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a "light" burden.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

My Friends Are Lobbyists

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:18:00 +0000

Is Obama Already President?

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:59:00 +0000

From a great columnist and presidential historian, Richard Reeves, whose books and writings on Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan and Clinton I have always enjoyed. I always appreciate his perspective on current issues through his lens into history.

-Maltok 5

IS OBAMA ALREADY PRESIDENT?

by Richard Reeves
Mon Sep 8, 10:01 AM ET

NEW YORK -- As a member of the Elite Eastern Media in good standing (I hope), I would like to say that St. Paul was the most educational and enjoyable Republican National Convention I have ever watched. Thrilling, really. I did not know that we, the people like me, were running the country until hearing it from John McCain, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and the rest of that wonderful bunch from real America.

This is just great, I thought again and again. My favorite revelation was Romney's declaration that the Supreme Court was "liberal." And I was delighted to hear Sen. McCain described as: "A restless reformer who will clean up Washington ... (and will) drain that swamp." Wow! You really have to pay attention these days, what with things changing so fast.

Romney was a hoot. My favorite. He must hate the media more than most of those who were in St. Paul, because he spoke as if he has not read or noticed anything for years. It is hard to believe he said:

"Is Washington now liberal or conservative? Let me ask you some questions. ... Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and off-shore drilling, making us more and more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants? It's liberal. Is government spending, putting aside inflation, liberal or conservative if it doubles since 1980? It's liberal. ... Throw out the big-government liberals and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin. ... You know, it's time for the party of big ideas, not the party of Big Brother."

The big-government liberals he's apparently worried about are the reigning Big Brother, Vice President Cheney, and the reigning borrow-and-spend budget-busting president, whom I had been thinking was named Bush.

Maybe it was me who got it wrong. I must admit that I was sorry to hear that this president -- Barack Obama, is it? -- is screwing up so bad, fighting wars and building bridges to nowhere and presiding over a tailspinning economy. You know, until McCain and the rest told me, I didn't even realize Obama was in charge the whole time. Pay attention!

Oops! This just in: George W. Bush is still president and has been for more than seven distressing years. I guess I was fooled by the fact that his name was almost never mentioned in St. Paul. A computer count indicated that Bush's name was used 12 times as often at the Democratic convention in Denver than in St. Paul -- but you know the Eastern Elite Media, they probably made that up.

And, darn, the papers said McCain has been in Congress for more than 25 years. His party, the Republicans, have controlled the White House or Congress or both since 1980. That did make me wonder a bit why McCain said, "We're worse off than we were four years ago." And then he added: "I promise you, if you're sick and tired of the way Washington operates, you only need to be patient for a couple of more months. Change is coming! Change is coming! Change is coming!"

Maybe he really does think Obama is now and has been for four years our president.

No, he must know Bush is still in office. Why else would he and Gov. Palin, the sparky leader of that expensive federal preserve called Alaska, declare victory in Iraq? Some victory. McCain said triumph was a result of his personal resolve and the surge led by "the leadership of a brilliant general, David Petraeus." Petraeus is one smart and admirable guy, but his timing is not always perfect. Just before McCain spoke, it was revealed that the general has recommended to the president (Bush) that sharp troop cuts trumpeted by the Republicans should be postponed until next year.

But, of course, McCain has already said we may be there for a hundred years. He may be right.

The conventions were fun and games and a bit of fantasy this time around. But except for introducing the country to Gov. Palin of the Yukon, "Caribou Barbie" to the bloggers, I doubt these rock concerts did much beyond holding the contenders in place. This race will still be about Bush's record, Obama's race and McCain's age.

Previous: WHO IS PREPARED TO BE PRESIDENT? NOBODY

What is this 'Iraq war' charge on my bill?

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:09:00 +0000

And While We're on the Subject of Spending...

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:32:00 +0000

This from cartoonist Steve Greenberg at the Ventura County Star. Sent in by our friend, Richard B.
-Maltok 5

Obama Campaign: Focus on McCain, Not the Moose in Wolf's Clothing

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:58:00 +0000

This analysis, in my opinion, is right on the money on how to deal with the "new" Republican distraction machine. Yeah, it sure is easy to get all worked up about Palin, whether you're for or against her. I know I've fallen into that trap myself. But... It distracts from the truth of McCain and Bush and the Republicans' last 8 years of systematic destruction of our rights, freedoms and standing in the world, who used to look up to us as a country, even with our known faults. And we are not any more safe. In fact probably far less so.

So, yeah she's a feisty, moose huntin', Pentacostal "in tongues" speakin', sarcastic ex beauty queenin', it's "God's plan" that we're in Iraq talkin' ball of jingoistic energy, er... bullshit, but... SHE'S JUST THERE TO DISTRACT FROM McSAME'S LACK OF REAL CHANGE AND IDEAS.
-Maltok 5

Sarah Palin: A Trojan Moose Concealing Four More Years of George Bush

Posted September 8, 2008 | 03:28 PM (EST)

Read More: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, John McCain, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Trojan Horse, Trojan Moose, Politics News

Did Sarah Palin wrongfully push to have her ex-brother-in law fired? Was she really against the "Bridge to Nowhere?" Did she really sell Alaska's plane on eBay, or just list it on eBay? Did she actually have any substantial duties commanding the Alaska National Guard?

The correct answer to all these questions is: who cares? Which isn't to say these aren't valid questions, or that Palin and the McCain camp aren't playing it fast, loose, and coy with each of them. The point is that Palin, and the circus she's brought to town, are simply a bountiful collection of small lies deliberately designed to distract the country from one big truth: the havoc that George Bush and the Republican Party have wrought, and that John McCain is committed to continuing.

Every second of this campaign not spent talking about the Republican Party's record, and John McCain's role in that record, is a victory for John McCain.

Her critics like to say that Palin hasn't accomplished anything. I disagree: in the space of ten days she's succeeded in distracting the entire country from the horrific Bush record -- and McCain's complicity in it. My friends, that's accomplishment we can believe in.

Just look at the problem John McCain faced. George Bush has a disastrous record, and the country knows it. John McCain -- the current one, not the one who vanished eight years ago -- has no major disagreements with George Bush (and I'm sorry, wanting to fire Donald Rumsfeld a bit sooner doesn't qualify) and wants to continue his incredibly unpopular policies for another four years. The solution? Enter Sarah Palin, a Trojan Moose carrying four more years of disaster.

And the plan has worked beautifully. Just look at what's being discussed just 57 days before the election. Is it the highest unemployment rate in five years? The bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? The suicide bombing yesterday in Iraq that killed six people and wounded 54 -- in the same market where last month a bomb killed 28 people and wounded 72? That the political reconciliation that was supposedly the point of "the surge" is nowhere near happening? That Iraq's Shiite government is now rounding up the American-backed Sunni leaders of the Awakening? That the reason 8,000 soldiers may be leaving Iraq soon is so more can be deployed to Afghanistan where the Taliban is steadily retaking the country?

No. We're talking about whether Sarah Palin was or was not a good mayor, whether she was or was not a good mother, whether her skirts are too short and her zingers too sarcastic.

Contrary to what we're hearing 24/7 in the media, the next few weeks are not a test of Sarah Palin. The next few weeks are a test of Barack Obama.

He needs to dramatically redirect this election back to a discussion over the issues that really matter -- the issues that will impact the future of this country. A presidential campaign is a battle and this is the time for Obama to show some commander-in-chief skills. I'm not talking about calling Palin out for lying about his record and demeaning community organizing. I'm talking about grabbing the political debate by the throat. The country is already angry about what's happened over the last seven-plus years -- he shouldn't be afraid to give voice to that anger. Obama has spent years adopting a non-threatening persona; but he can't let his fear that appearing like an "angry Black man" (a stereotype not-too-subtly fueled by Fox News) will turn off swing voters keep him from channeling the disgust and outrage felt by so many voters --swing and otherwise. [more]

Joe Biden On Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:51:00 +0000

Joe shows why he was a good pick for Vice President. Calls the McNasty Palincomparison team on its snarky snarkiness.

Who Needs "Actual Responsibilities" When You Can Just Belittle Others?

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:42:00 +0000

Some items that seem to be missing from Ms. Palin's resume. Biting, snarking sarcasm doesn't appear to be one of them, but is apparent in spades...

-Maltok 5

The Sarah Palin Digest

ThinkProgress has put together a document compiling what we know about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) vice presidential running mate. Here are the issues:

* Foreign Policy
* Earmarks
* Environment
* Energy
* Big Oil
* Science
* Women’s Rights
* Ethics
* Troopergate
* Radical Right
* Civil Rights
* Health Care
* Economy

ON FOREIGN POLICY

Palin Hasn’t Given The War In Iraq Much Thought. Palin told the Alaska Business Monthly, “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place.” [Alaska Business Monthly, 3/1/07]

Palin Has Never Been To Iraq. In her only trip overseas, Palin visited Alaska National Guard troops stationed in Kuwait and Germany in July 2007. [AP, 7/25/07]

Palin Believes That The Iraq War Is A Task ‘From God.’ Speaking at the Wasilla Assembly of God church in June, Palin said that “our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” [Huffington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin Believes The Iraq War Was Fought Over Oil. “We are a nation at war and in many [ways] the reasons for war are fights over energy sources,” Palin told BusinessWeek in an interview. [BusinessWeek, 8/29/08]

Palin Didn’t Have A Passport Until 2007. Palin first obtained a passport in July 2007 for her trip to Kuwait and Germany to visit Alaska National Guard troops. Her only other trip outside of the United States was to Canada. A Palin spokeswoman had previously said that Palin had also been to Ireland, although it was actually just a “refueling stop” on her Germany/Kuwait trip. [New York Times, 8/29/08; Politico, 9/2/08]

[more]

Former POW says McCain is Not Cut Out To Be President

noreply@blogger.com (Boy on the Bike) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:35:00 +0000

This guy doesn't seem to have a big axe to grind. He might even be telling the truth. Either way, it's good to try to put a countering argument to the whole "I'm a hero! Vote for me!" thing McCain and his campaign have been doing, regardless of the topic. They cheapen the true worth of McCain's actual heroic deeds.