Day: April 2, 2009

Stop Using Nationalization

In recent weeks there has been a plethora of pundits that have been calling the bank thing a nationalization…it is not…..so please stop calling it that.

What is actually occurring is that the government is recapitalizing the industry.  That is an infusion of new funds into the daily operation of the companies.

The government intervenes to recapitalize a bank by giving cash in exchange for some form of guarantee, such as a stake in the company.  Taxpayers can then benefit if the bank recovers.

Regardless of what the mindless ones say, the banks have NOT been nationalized just recapitalized by the government….it is not socialism at work….it is capitalism!

What To Do About This?

A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace — charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted.

The teen, whose name has not been released because of her age, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. She was released to her mother’s custody.

If convicted of the distribution charge, she would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, said state Attorney General Anne Milgram. She also could face up to 17 years in jail, though such a stiff sentence is unlikely.

Okay sports fans, while I have a problem with child porn and think it is disgusting I have a problem with this story.  The child could have to register as a sex offender for having pics of herself…….thinking……why is that porn?  Could it possibly be that the girl likes her body?  Something not many teens her age can say.

I am sorry, but I do not see this is a crime…now if she was charging a price to view her pics then maybe, but I guess that since it was on Myspace it is considered public.  Was her space locked to all but friends?  There has to be more to this story than published….so far I do not see a crime that would justify a possiblity of 17 years in the slammer.  There is the possibility that she may need some sort of professional help….but she does not need to be locked up.

Oh, Those Southern Senators

They are either the most amusing of people or the biggest pack of morons around…..the later gets my vote….and I should know…I live in the South.

One of my favs is the junior senator from Tennessee, Corker.  During the original auto bailout he and his Alabama cohort, Shelby were passing around the $70 an hour figure for the pay of a typical union auto worker…well that was a lie and took some real creative math to come up with….but beyond that their point was that the American auto makers should be paying what the Jap auto makers were paying in the South.

Mr. Corker wants Detroit to have the exact same compensation levels as the Japanese transplants in the non-union Southern states. That means moving hourly labor costs down from roughly $70 to $48. It means reopening the UAW contracts that have created the huge pay gap between Toyota and GM. It means putting an end to excessive pension and health-care benefits.

The Southern Senators had no problem forcing the American worker into accepting lower wages and benefits if they wanted to keep their jobs…it was blackmail….plain and simple.

Recently we heard that GM’s CEO was forced out and once again Corker had something to say about that turn of events.


“Firing Rick Wagoner is a sideshow to distract us from the fact that the administration has no progress to announce today,” said Corker. “The administration is hoping the media and the public will stay focused on Wagoner and fail to notice that negotiations have not progressed since December.

“This is a marked departure from the past, truly breathtaking, and should send a chill through all Americans who believe in free enterprise. I worry that in one fell swoop we’ve lost our moral high ground throughout the global community as it relates to chastising other countries that use strong arm tactics to invade on private property rights.”

As usual the GOP is more concerned with what happens to the CEOs than it is with the people that actually make the product that the CEO has to sell.  Why?