BAIL OUT: Round ???

Unbelievable...specifically though I am going to focus on the banks;

The latest articles has BOA and Citi screaming for more funds. BOA is said to "need $34 billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn", yet "has already received $45 billion of government help"...Tough Shit!

Yes, this has struck a cord with me and for a long time I debated not writing about my current situation but the time has come...

TIMELINE
2004-Purchased a beautiful 2BD/2BA condo on an 80/20 loan from Wells Fargo
2005-Refinanced with a 'douche bag' loan shark (husband of my wife former employee) that slipped in an Interest only loan unannounced to me. Yes I trusted a mutual friend and banker...stupid I know I'll learn!
2006-Attempted to sell the condo after an inflated market drove our price up to nearly double what we paid. Awesome until....the market dropped quicker than we could drop our price
2007-Decided to rent our property
2008-REAL ESTATE takes the ultimate plunge and equally sized condos quickly are being placed in foreclosure or bankruptcy in our complex for half of what we paid

DO THE MATH: Yes you read correctly...hypothetically lets say we paid $100 for our house, which inflated to $200 and is now priced with foreclosures and bankruptcy at $50. Your starting to see my frustration with the banks.

The banks created loans for people who couldn't afford homes, and so more people with more loans = more money for the banks. Now the government is throwing money at the banks to help them stay afloat = more money for banks...meanwhile people foreclose and go bankrupt driving current real estate prices through the floor. We are seeing the next problem with banks now too stingy to loan or refinance people, even the responsible people, to hopefully avoid more foreclosure or bankruptcy's. Well, their cry for more money is not being heard by me...let them fail! Many of us will still be in the same situation either way regarding our loan headaches...heck, we may even be better off when they go under!

U.N. and North Korea to meet at the bike racks @ 3pm!

In case you need some preface to this story, North Korea and the UN Security Council are fighting like big children. North Korea said "We're going to conduct nuclear and missile tests unless the U.N. apologizes", to which the U.N. replied "it's impossible to retract that statement."


Apologize or else?

Twitter today...

Gone tomorrow! Or at least that's my take on the latest fad. WHY?

It doesn't generate the money to stay afloat at this point, and notably so stating that "we spend more money than we make"! In addition they offer little vision for the future other than to state "we plan to build Twitter, Inc into a successful, revenue-generating company that attracts world-class talent with an inspiring culture and attitude towards doing business" HOW?

They attempt to get brownie points riding Apples success stating that "we all work on Macintosh computers except for testing purposes".

Partnerships are going to need to be made to maintain success and buzz in the public eye, but this is also the beauty of the Internet. It's easy in but also easy out...

Terrorists=1 Million and breeding

What would a terrorist watch list consist of in your mind? Someone that is evil, perhaps more specifically evil communist dictators, or maybe more general like offensive or aggressive behaviors, etc. How about a 6 year old child? No, come on not even Michael Oliver in the movie "The Problem Child"?

Well this list encompasses now over one million people and one could be you! Not exactly you per say, but if your name was more common like Dave Nelson, chances are you've been stopped or even harassed while trying to fly. The problem with a list like this is that it is beyond out of control. It attempts to simplify finding a terrorist by specific criteria. The ACLU mentions the plethora of reasons why having a list so large is pointless, but I think you understand how ridiculous this system and list of names really is!

Ho, ho, ho!

Step back in time to when you had your junior or senior prom. Did this look like a typical prom dress? Now most girls I knew liked playing hard to get, but clearly "Marche" just laid it all out there for the taking. Hmm...what potential future industry might she be getting into???

Reading between the Lines

Well, believe it or not the Democratic race is still going. Why? Despite recommendations for Hillary to throw in the towel, her stubbornness or competitiveness pushes it on. Would you have thrown in the towel if you were her? Consider these facts before answering...

1. Obama has 1,846.5 delegates to 1,696 for Clinton in The Associated Press tally. It takes 2,025 delegates to win the nomination in Denver this summer.
2. Clinton disclosed that she had loaned her campaign an additional $6.4 million in recent weeks; her original loan was for $5 million.
3. Your husbands friends support your competition. Just look at these three Bill Clinton chums/cabinet members who now back Obama; Greg Craig, Anthony Lake, Robert Reich
4. The irony of her comment this past week about betting on the filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby (the only female in the group of males), and while the horse finished second she collapsed breaking two ankles only to be euthanized, and then considering the winner was Big Brown...odd?

So would you still be in? It is getting to the point where she is hurting her party, yet she doesn't seem to care. Why? Ponder this theory by one of my friends...

1st - In 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified which gave all males over 21, regardless of race or color, the right to vote. The problem was that a segregated America at the time did not enforce this so then the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which essentially followed the 15th Amendment but provided the power to be enforced. This is typically viewed as the first time all African Americans were allowed to vote.
2nd - The first movement of women voting rights dated back to the 1820's with some small state successes, but no national recognition. That is until in 1920, when the 19th Amendment was ratified and it gave women the right to vote.
3rd - In addition in the 40's and 50's society had painted the image of the happy stay at home housewife doing everything for the family and their husband (FYI..that job is 10 times more difficult than what you do). Even today there are still reports that women are paid less than men for performing the same job.

The theory concludes that Hillary continues to fight because our founders and society has viewed women as the lowest possible ranking individual. Which then begs the question that despite her obstacles is she pushing on to prove a rank of race and/or gender? (I'm not touching that one with a 9 1/2 foot pole.)

Thoughts???

From insanity to humor...2 days

So to bring you up to speed on my United lost luggage issue, I now have my bag. What a nightmare of events to get me to the actual point of getting it though. Through this process I spoke with five baggage claim agents (located in India via the phone), all of which ran through the same scripted garbage with me, and then to top it off the moron behind the counter in MKE clearly echoed the same dumbfoundedness of his colleagues on the phone. Clearly United has serious customer service training issues...correction, no customer service!
---In the great words of Clark Griswold I'd like to tell United "what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit they are. Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol?"---

Now that I have my luggage back I truly do have to laugh at the ignorance and stupidity of one of the world's largest airlines...no wonder they are looking to merge with any other airline willing Perhaps this is what the discussion went like at corporate...

United untied

Long gone are the days of peaceful travel, airport customer service, and luggage that actually arrives with you when you at your final destination. Yesterday (and still today) United Airlines has made certain I have had to witness this loss first hand.

My letter sent to customer service explaining the story is attached as the picture below if you care to read it...


The cliff note version: poor customer service, delayed flight, lost baggage from United

The question then becomes who is to blame?
1. Terrorists - they stole the most precious commodity from us; time.
2. Airlines - apparently they are not keeping their employees happy nor are they doing a great job of forecasting. Nearly every airline has experienced bankruptcy, or merging with others to broaden their reach and also to avoid any further financial complications
3. Employees - again unhappy might be an understatement, but these employees will soon top the USPS as the most disgruntle employees in the world
4. Overseas call centers - do I need to explain this one?
5. Travelers - true some people are idiots when it comes to travel and they do slow down the process but that only accounts for slow check-in, security checkpoint, and boarding...not my lost luggage!

In closing I will say that United Airlines, which I have traveled nearly 20,000 miles with, has continually disappointed me...yes I have now learned my lesson!

Making News

So what makes it into the media today usually fits into one of two categories; bad press or good press. But, alas with the explosion of idiots everywhere enters the new category of stupid press. The latest example of this is about the anti-depressants for animals that are experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Problem:
Without getting to deep into the article, the greatest point in the article is made when it has been determined that the highest rated suicidal pet is the parrot…apparently all those colors are giving that bird a bad trip.


Answer:
So what to do with suicidal parrots, turn them into attack parrots. In London, England a pet store owner had an ill tempered parrot that was apparently “pet” knapped...not for long though! This macaw bit the ear of the thief leaving a blood trail for police to obtain a proper DNA match.

This culminates the article of stupid pet drugs and stupid criminals!