Bush Tells Congress To Bail Him Out, Congress Tells Bush To Get 2nd Job

Bush implores Congress to act to rescue markets

President Bush says the economic damage to the nation will be "painful and lasting" if Congress fails to pass a $700 billion bailout bill.

Bush said Tuesday that "Congress must act" and said the economy is depending on "decisive action on the part of our government." He spoke a day after the House voted narrowly to defeat the massive relief measure that his administration and leading members of Congress had agreed was necessary.

Bush said he wanted to "assure our citizens and citizens around the world that this is not the end of the legislative process."

Source

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The sad details Mr. President is your fellow republicans had the lion's share of no votes.

Why? Because they are terrified of constituent opinion and being aligned with your failed economic plan.

Voting statistic government source here:

Ayes Noes NV

Democratic 140 95 0

Republican 65 133 1

Independent 0 0 0

Total 205 228 1

The people have spoken and incredibly were heard, this is what makes this country the greatest.

People are stark raving angry at their elected officials for letting deregulation get us in this mess and more so of being asked to bail out those driven by greed in order to keep the market temporarily running.

I say temporarily because this $700 billion isn't a cure all by any means, this puts a band aid on the hemorrhaging until just after the election at the worst and for a few years at the best....the bill will still come due and that's why folks are saying they aren't going to pay...it isn't their bill, it's Wall streets bill.

The President implies that history will vindicate his policies, I don't think we will have to wait that long.

Welcome To Detroit

Ted Stevens - Alaska's Kwami Kilpatrick

No paper trail' ordered for Stevens home remodel

While reviewing expense reports for a 2000 construction project, a bookkeeper for Alaska oil services giant VECO Corp. asked for an explanation. Who was this work for, she asked? Why was it performed?

The cryptic note she received back included the instruction, "No paper trail."

Federal prosecutors say the note, introduced as evidence Friday at Sen. Ted Stevens' corruption trial, was part of a scheme by Stevens and VECO founder Bill Allen to conceal more than $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts that the contractor bestowed on the Senate's longest-serving Republican.

Bookkeeper Cheryl Boomershine testified Friday that VECO employees submitted invoices and expense reports for a project located in Girdwood, a ski town south of Anchorage where VECO didn't normally work.

When she requested details, she said she got little information back. The note listed only one reason for the secrecy: "per Bill Allen."

The unusual project was a dramatic renovation of Stevens' home and it has become the centerpiece of his gift-giving trial. Prosecutors say he withheld the free renovations from his Senate disclosure forms.

The 84-year-old Stevens, a Senate powerhouse for generations, has seen both his influence and re-election prospects weakened by the case. His lawyers say he was a busy senator who couldn't oversee every aspect of the project but who, like every homeowner, paid the bills that came in — $160,000 in all.

Source

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Nice...He gets 55% off a quarter of a million dollar home improvement and I can barely find a job that pays enough to scrap by.

But fundamentally the economy is strong...if your getting kickbacks.

This guy is unfortunately Alaska's Kwami Kilpatrick, I feel sorry for Alaskans I see this dragging out for months already.

How many of our houses look similar to Ted Stevens?

What !?!?

You say your house isn't as nice as Ted's?

You say you don't have a sculpture of Salmon on your top floor wrap around deck overlooking an outdoor Eden that you can see while sitting around the fire place in your vaulted ceiling living room?

Your missing out, You should get into politics, it pays to know people.


Welcome To Detroit

XBOX Three Red Lights Of Death Blinking

Oh crap, my $359.00 XBOX just boots to 3 blinking red lights.

I have heard of this before and saw friends ship their unit back to Microsoft via Gamestop for repair and it taking WAY too long and costing about $150.00.

Thank God for Youtube and this guy, Gamerguy51.

I did exactly as he instructed and Viola IT DID WORK.

Thanks my man you saved me a bunch of money and taught me something to boot.

You are every bit the Playa your shirt says you are!




Welcome To Detroit

Stem Cell Clone Monkey Army Caught Smoking Marijuana

Majority back medical marijuana

Poll also shows embryonic stem cell proposal with lead

A majority of Michiganians is inclined to legalize marijuana for sick people, but a second statewide ballot proposal to relax restrictions on embryonic stem cell research in Michigan is a closer contest -- and the advertising blitz has just begun on that measure.

The latest poll found that voters, by a 59-37 margin, favor the ballot proposal to allow terminally and seriously ill people to legally use marijuana if a doctor certified the drug could ease their suffering.

The statewide poll showed that the biggest backers were women (63 percent support), Metro Detroiters (60 percent) and Democrats (68 percent). Among men, the proposal garnered 51 percent support and 49 percent of Republicans favored it.

Law enforcement groups are near unanimous in their opposition to medical marijuana, saying it's part of a broader agenda to legalize marijuana for everyone. But there doesn't appear to be any group ready to spend money on an ad campaign to defeat the measure.

Source

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I can only say it's about time.

The stigma surrounding Marijuana is prejudiced at it's inception and moronic in it's continued enforcement.

Marijuana was initially made illegal because blacks and Mexicans were the most prominent users and white legislatures by making it illegal were able to jail or otherwise depose of those minority groups nationally as they saw fit.

I won't bother to educate you further on it or argue about it, this is the world wide web and its the 21st century, you can find the it yourself online. PBS also did a good series on drug laws about a year ago, look for that as a start.

Timothy Leary further exposed the unconstitutionality of the marijuana law by going to the supreme court to prove the fallacy of it, how?

Timothy Leary argued and rightly so that the law provided a catch 22 in its enforcement, you could legally get a permit to grow marijuana if you brought a sample of your crop to your local government body empowered to give such permits of agriculture, BUT it was illegal to grow it without it, so you couldn't legally grow the crop to get the required permit to further cultivate the crop, catch 22.

The supreme court had actually thrown the law out and marijuana was legal for about two weeks in the 60's because of it.

That legislation was changed el pronto because the government has its priorities straight...yeah right, it takes 10 years of watching the economy tank before the government even moves on a bail out plan but two weeks to make sure that evil weed doesn't make it to your unsuspecting, dying grandma's hands.

I cannot believe how marijuana has been sold to the community as a source of woe for society at large...not while alcohol and tobacco is legally sold and taxed by the state and federal government to horrific ends for society.

I would argue that alcohol and tobacco side effects and societal hazards have devastatingly far exceeded any harmful effects attributed to marijuana supposed or real.

The cost for citizens on law enforcement alone is grotesque considering just about anyone in America can make 3 phone calls and have an once of pot on their lap within 24 hours.

I guess the war on drugs isn't very cost effective is it?

Seizing homes and destroying lives because someone had 2 joints on them and incarcerating them for years doesn't make any sense period, but your paying for it anyway aren't you?

Stem cell research is also woefully far overdue.

It's idiotic to govern by religious zealotry when so many your fellow human beings can benefit medically from such research.

What has this ban accomplished?

Well for one it made virtually every other nation on Earth with such research programs now more advanced than the U.S. in stem cell research.

What were people afraid of? Baby farms? Clone Armies? Genetic monkey mutants running amok? "Take your stinking paws off me you damned dirty ape."

This is what happens when uninformed people are scared into voting along religious doctrine.

When you look into it, there were several constant existing cultures of stem cells that could have been grown and harvested in unlimited numbers, we didn't need baby farms even if we wanted to have them.

These two laws are now to be voted upon in Michigan and its about time common sense and logic define our legislation and not religious or racial prejudices.

What happens when our dollars are spent logically?

I dunno, lets look at the current $700 billion dollar bail out we are being forced to swallow.

What could $700 billions buy?

Cure for cancer?

Cure for AIDS?

Grants for everyone in the U.S. to go to college?

Economic stimulus packages?

A permanent moon base for future solar exploration?

Mars landing program?

Security for our borders against terrorism?

New research technology for clean fuels and batteries?

$700 billion could buy a whole lot, instead we are spending in on an imaginary structure that produces nothing but paper I.O.U's.

Restructuring laws as the common citizen sees fit is the best move Michigan can make towards becoming a leader in the future instead of the current bottom of the barrel beggar of state.


Welcome To Detroit

I Never Know When Other People Pay My Bills Either

Stevens 'Didn't Know' His Bills Paid by Friend

The lawyer for Sen. Ted Stevens told a federal jury in D.C. today that the Alaska Republican paid every bill he received for a home renovation project and had no idea he wasn't being charged for some of the work.

In his opening statement at Stevens' corruption trial, defense attorney Brendan Sullivan said the senator and his wife believed they had paid the fair market price for the renovations and didn't know that his friend, oil executive Bill Allen, was keeping other bills or costs from them.

Source

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Um yeah right....In the off chance that anyone, ever pays my bills for me...I'll notice trust me.

The old "I swear I didn't know" defense...your a Senator in the world's most powerful government and you plead ignorance?

Please Sir you insult your constituents with your gall.

The hilarity continues...

____________________________________

Stevens is accused of knowingly and repeatedly filing false financial reports with the Senate between 2000 and 2006 that understated or omitted gifts or other benefits that he got from Allen and others. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutor Morris told jurors not to buy the theory that Stevens was unaware of what went on around him. She said Stevens knew he wasn't getting all the bills for the renovations and was quite experienced at hiding favors.

"You do not survive politics in this town for that long without being very, very smart, very, very deliberate, very forceful and, at the same time, knowing how to fly under the radar," Morris told jurors.

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So who did he get these gifts from? Who is circumventing our elected government for favors?

The accused is Veco Corporation.

______________________________________

Stevens “knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to conceal'’ his receipt of “hundreds of thousands of dollars'’ of gifts from Veco Corp., an oil-field engineering firm, and its chief executive officer, the indictment said.

Source

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Corruption at the highest levels of government is not indicative of a healthy government.


Welcome To Detroit

Economy In Peril - Government Still Afraid To Use D-Word

President warns of 'painful recession' if reprieve isn't approved; he invites Obama, McCain to help finalize plan.

President Bush summoned Barack Obama, John McCain and legislative leaders to an extraordinary White House summit, warning Americans and Congress on Wednesday night that failing to act on a $700 billion financial industry bailout could lead to "a long and painful recession."

Earlier, Bush bowed to Democratic demands to limit the pay of executives whose tottering companies would be rescued.

Democrats and Republicans were nearing agreement on the rescue legislation, the most sweeping government intervention in the market since the Great Depression, and set a meeting early today to draft a bipartisan bill.

Bush acknowledged in a prime time television address Wednesday night that the bailout would be a "tough vote" for lawmakers.

The president's dire warning came not long after he invited presidential candidates Obama and McCain as well as key congressional leaders to a White House meeting today to work on a compromise.

The administration appeared to be softening its resistance to Democrats' demand that the eye-popping cost be phased in rather than dispensed all at once.

But Bush strongly urged Congress to act quickly to pass the plan, warning Americans in his 12-minute speech that failing to act fast risked dire economic consequences such as disappearing retirement savings, rising foreclosures, lost jobs and closed businesses.

"Without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic, and a distressing scenario would unfold," Bush said as he worked to resurrect the unpopular bailout package.

With the administration's original proposal considered dead in Congress, House leaders issued an upbeat statement late Wednesday saying there was progress toward revised legislation that could pass.

In their statement, Pelosi and Boehner said, "We agree that key changes should be made to the administration's initial proposal. It must include basic good-government principles, including rigorous and independent oversight, strong executive compensation standards and protections for taxpayers."

Earlier, Paulson agreed to demands from critics in both parties to limit the pay packages of Wall Street executives whose companies would benefit from the proposed bailout.

"The American people are angry about executive compensation and rightfully so," Paulson told the House Financial Services Committee. "We must find a way to address this in the legislation without undermining the effectiveness of the program."

Source

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Seriously the President must be the last guy on Earth to know how bad the economy was.

Talk about out of touch.

I just love how everyone dances around the word Depression and use other euphemisms like "a long and painful recession."

Puleeze.

With all this the Republican party STILL wanted to ensure corporate executives got their cut? After what they have done to this country?

Who owns who?

Bush urging congress to act quickly?

Get on board the short bus George, we left for shanty town a long time ago but you should remember it.

It was during your watch.



Welcome To Detroit

Clay Aiken Last To Discover He Is Gay

Clay Aiken is joining the ranks of the out and proud.

The unlikely heartthrob, whose Southern gentlemanliness has made the young'uns love him and their moms want to pinch his cheeks, has revealed that he is gay in an upcoming cover story for People magazine, on newsstands Friday.

Source

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I am not big on celebrity news but when celebrities are so self serving and facetious I just can't help myself.

1) Clay Aiken had to be kidding himself if he thought he was fooling anyone about his straight street cred.

2) I suspect coming out is his way of fanning the flames ( no pun intended) on his flagging notoriety and extending his 15 minutes of fame to 22 minutes and 38 seconds.

3) Unlikely heartthrob? Is this the same demographic that thought Liberace was a heartthrob? i.e. the 100-120 year old virgin demographic.

Clay...more power to ya my man, frankly I couldn't care less if your riding the pole or loving the hole but if you feel the need hey by all means alert the media.


Welcome To Detroit

Franalysis? Will It Hurt?

Examining my site stats indicates something rather interesting.

An astounding 20% of you come to my site for my article about Franalysis.

The article.


It is rather bland as I had no experience neither good nor bad with Franalysis just one email and nothing since.

You may be helping someone else out with your comment so feel free to leave one please.

Some considerations:

Did you receive spam from Franalysis?

Are/were you looking for their services?

Were you job hunting and were contacted by Franalysis?

Did you hear good or bad things about what Franalysis provides as a service.

________________________________

Like I said I had no experience with them personally, I was looking for a job and received some sales pitch spam from them, haven't received anything else since which is rather refreshing, I looked them up on the Internet like a lot of you did apparently and found very little really, which is probably why everyone is hitting my site for information on Franalysis/

Here was the little discussion I did find in a franchise chat forum.

Well lets help someone out...leave a comment...Franlysis must be emailing all or most of the 20% hitting my site.



Welcome To Detroit

Eggs? Check, Bread? Check, Economic Despair? Check.

Census: Michigan's economic rank falls

Median income declines as home values shrink more than U.S. average.

By nearly every measure, Michigan has lost ground economically compared to the rest of the country, according to census figures released today.

The state lost nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2007, according to census figures that paint a portrait of a state that looks far different than it did just a few years ago, when tens of thousands of those workers wouldn't have believed their futures could include a switch from making cars to making sandwiches.

The numbers, released as part of the 2007 American Community Survey, taken annually by 3 million households nationwide, show how quickly the state has transformed. As recently as 2004, Michigan incomes exceeded the national average and its home values, although lower, were rising as well.

The median household income for Michigan slid by more than $7,100 to $47,950 while the national average dipped by just over $1,000 to 50,740. Meanwhile, Michigan homeowners saw more than $4,200 in value slip away while home values nationwide rose by nearly $18,000.

Source

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With statistics like these why shouldn't Michigan either:

A) Secede from the union.

Or

B) Make Granholm pay for her mismanagement out of pocket.


Michigan had been breast fed from the teat of the auto industry for way, way too long.

It made those suckling lazy and unappreciative and those who couldn't get to the teats disgruntled and spiteful.

We have a state society where trying is not rewarded and failure is not to be avoided.

Just look at the auto industry here in Michigan, there virtually was no one here in Michigan who didn't see higher gas prices, performance, reliability and longevity as prime requisites needing attention by the big three and the big three could not break the paradigm of doing it old school even at the cost of their own throats.

But why should they? Failure is rewarded internationally, nationally and locally.

The big three have been lobbying for a financial bail out for quite a while now and why not when everyone is getting a buck from you and I.

How do corporations end up on the dole and those who make the least income pay for it?

The answer is quite easy actually, the U.S. government now serves corporations and not the people it's sworn to represent.

Doubt my words? Prove me wrong.

Well back to Michigan...there are some things we could do locally, painful but the rewards are there.

1) Let the automakers here in Michigan start paying their bills namely taxes.

The auto industry here in Detroit and Dearborn get huge tax breaks for their gracing us with their presence. That needs to stop, they can start paying their bills just like you and I for although the much publicized poor domestic market in the auto industry is still limping, internationally the big three have never seen better profits.

You won't see that on the news they don't WANT you to know, they want that bailout money, you can't get that by telling the world your Asian and European markets are doing bang up business and costs are down because you outsourced everything from the U.S. it's just not good public relations.

2) Require Michigan (preferably all of the U.S. ) companies that choose to outsource to be liable to hire two Michigan citizens for every national they hire over seas. Make it a penalty to outsource, not a reward.

If they are caught and convicted of circumventing this proposed law, jail time.
No plea deals, no parole....jail time, mandatory.

3) Tax those who make higher incomes at a higher margin, don't be greedy you know it's right to help a society the more you benefit from it just ask Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, they give away millions to the great benefit of many people and don't even have to be asked.

4) Force those responsible for repairing and maintaining Michigan roads to actually do their jobs.

If you have ever driven through Michigan at any point it's like going from pavement to a battlefield as soon as you cross the state line.

Why? Because a long time ago the auto industry somehow convinced (ka-ching) those in the state government to allow a higher weight limit in Michigan to allow the automakers to have heavier trucks to ship cars than they could have in the rest of the U.S in order to keep them in Michigan.

What do you get? Roads that last about 45 minutes after opening. Pay off for Michigan residents? Zero.

The OTHER why? Michigan road service and repair sucks ass. This state department needs a total overhaul and held to a pay for performance criteria...in other words they just plain suck at their job.

I have seen road workers for years not even bother to tamp asphalt into potholes (which is a shit repair to begin with.) and then you get asphalt you bought all over your car you also bought performed by workers you paid to not do a good job.

Asphalt poured into a hole is not a repair...cut the concrete and pour new concrete....they can make landing strips at airports out of special concrete that would last one hundred years before cracking from typical car use...lets just pay a lot once and not need repairs for a century, let the guy who is paid $55k a year to shovel asphalt into a hole get a real job. 

5) Have the state take over the Detroit school system. No explanation needed here if you live in Michigan but for "normals" in the real world outside of Michigan here goes...

Detroit runs their school system separate but equal from the state....ok stop laughing it's true.

While the rest of the state school system has benefited immeasurably from the state lottery, Detroit being separate is not part of that system because they wanted to run their own house.

The results speak for themselves. No pencils, no toilet paper, no books, massive school closings and one of the lowest graduation rates in the Country....yay Detroit.

Detroit would argue that it is their problem not the states, WRONG, when you churn out unemployable social misfits year after year after year that DOES effect the rest of the state through crime and unemployment so we DO have a say how you run your house.

6) Raise licence fees on hunters coming to Michigan from out state to hunt. Michigan has some of the best natural resources left in the country and we could easily change that into our state economy and away from industry and the auto makers in particular.

Taking care of hundreds of thousands of acres of state forest could employ countless Michigan citizens on a myriad of levels. Look at Yellowstone, Look at Custer..there are park systems that are very successful and we don't have to build much infrastructure to start them.

7) Bring in new business, why is this so hard? Kwami Kilpatrick and Jennifer Granholm were and are both dismal failures are doing this, why?

"Give" a business an empty building to get started here, we have enough of them. Doubt that? Pull out the foreclosure list, empty buildings aren't making any money for banks or the citizens, they are just sitting here like magnets for crime and economic despair.

If you can show a financial plan that ensures you will employ 50 or more people for three years or more you get the building for three years free....free!...businesses will be flocking here.

After three years they get a no bid offer to rent at market price locked for ten years so as the economy grows their rent won't for a decade.

Whats the difference? The buildings are just sitting there empty now not making money for anyone.

8) Get rid of the casinos, they do not employ as many people as they promise and they create little to no economic benefit in their wake.

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I could go on but the point being there ARE things that could and should change in order to get us back on track as a state....what are we actually doing?

Welcome To Detroit

Time To Get Back To Work

Well Good News, I have a job offer.

The grim statistics are:

Unemployed since mid June, about 95? days. The current average in Michigan is 17 weeks.

612 email replies to my inbox from inquiries by me for employment.
The bulk of which 80%? were erroneous emails and spam from job boards.

I applied to anywhere from 2-20 places per day online, average of about 4-6.

My pay will be roughly 65% of what is was formerly although I think I will like the position better, which was a deciding factor.

Total interviews obtained from 3 months of daily M-F online effort was 3 with one return for a 2nd interview so 4 total.

Total leads from networking contacts (co-workers, friends.)was 1 job offer out of state for about 50% of former pay.

___________________________________________

So if I could give any advice to anyone out there it would be this.

Job boards are a incredible waste of time to the tune of about 99.6% inefficiency.

Leads from the newspaper performed best in terms of replies to inquiries.

Personal networking also had returns I would rate as  poor although I still think this would normally be the best route to gain employment.

Persistence, persistence, persistence...had I lost initiative or just plain gave up as I saw so many of my friends and co-workers do it would have been detrimental to my ever finding anything even remotely in my field of expertise.

I also turned down one job offer that was so ridiculously low as to hurt my career and self esteem for years, so do not be afraid to say no.

I recommend learning how to say thanks but no thanks, it is allowable to not be happy with an offer.

Remember it is the employers job to find someone as cheap as possible who can perform the job, yours is to find the highest paying offer possible you can adequately perform.

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This blog started out as a diary more or less of the trials and tribulations I had while looking for work.

It has since become more of a sounding board for injustices either local to Detroit or national to the U.S. as I peprceived them and commented upon, pulled entirley from the news media at large.

Welcome To Detroit

$700 Billion For Corporate Criminals

Administration Is Seeking $700 Billion for Wall Street Bailout

The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed to Congress what could become the largest financial bailout in United States history, requesting virtually unfettered authority for the Treasury to buy up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets from financial institutions based in the United States.

Source

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Well that comes to roughly $2272 dollars for every man, woman and child on estimates that there are roughly 308 millions U.S. citizens currently.

Frankly I don't see why I have to bail out those who are responsible for this mess.

This deregulated horn of plenty has been going on for the last eight years unattended and now you, I, Grandma Jones and little Timmy down the street are to bail out these a-holes?

I say let them fail...all of them...hold them responsible for their mismanagement like I am if I fail to pay my bills.

Whats the worse that could happen?

Depression instead of recession?

Seriously do you really think that is much of a threat?

I am not working now, what difference does it make if I am not working in a recession versus not working in a depression?

I am broke either way.

The only ones who are really hurt by this economic disaster and I mean really, really hurt are the ultra rich, those with great financial stake in the market.

Those with the President and Congressional leaders collective ears.

The President in his speech Friday 9/19 said he decided after hearing just how bad the economic prognosis was "to act and to act boldly."

The President isn't acting...he is reacting....and reacting after waiting far too long.

Reaction is the typical response of a follower not a leader.

As for myself, I have no stake in the market, broke is broke to you and I but to the self proclaimed movers and shakers on Wall Street this is truly terrifying.

Let me define of whom I am describing.

I am not talking about the hundreds and thousands millionaires of this country, they are small potatoes in this as much as you or I.

I am talking about the multi-billionaires, the financial elite, the crème de' le' crème, who decide financially the fates of whole industries or corner markets in this country.

Those financiers who for the last decade have built and compounded the division of the classes from humble beginnings as a few mere decimal points into a yawning chasm of the haves and have-nots.

They could lose billions if not trillions.

Me? I am just out $2272 as a rough estimate...I can deal with that.

But to those who lobby Washington and our elected officials to change regulations on financial markets, to those that decide the destiny or millions of U.S. citizens on a daily basis, to those that outsourced all of the U.S. employment to foreign countries to maximize their bottom lines, to those who routinely seek to change legislation in the country to work decidedly to their financial benefit, to those who knew they were building a economic bubble to burst based upon their willingness to invest in bad loans because of their pure unadulterated greed...to those I say...fail, fail, fail.

I can get by without you, I am an American.


Welcome To Detroit

Leaders Speaking Truth Step Forward

Top Republican says Palin unready


Senator Chuck Hagel could be influential with independent voters
Senior Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has voiced doubts about Sarah Palin's qualifications for the vice-presidency.

John McCain's running mate "doesn't have any foreign policy credentials", Mr Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald.

Mr Hagel was a prominent supporter of Mr McCain during his 2000 bid for the US presidency, but has declined to endorse either candidate this year.
He was opposed to the Iraq War, and recently joined Mr McCain's rival Barack Obama on a Middle East trip.

Mr Hagel also criticised the McCain campaign for its suggestion that the proximity of Alaska to Russia gave Mrs Palin foreign policy experience.

"I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia'," he said.

"That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

Source

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Finally a Republican leader who speaks the truth backed by common sense.

Chuck Hagel and Ron Paul are what the Republican party are SUPPOSED to be about.

There are so few real leaders anymore but these two gentlemen are just that...Leaders and leaders not afraid to buck party lines to state the obvious.



Welcome To Detroit

McCain Promises Monkey Farts And Rainbows.

McCain promises prosperity


John McCain and Sarah Palin pumped up the faithful in Republican country Wednesday night, promising the GOP ticket won't raise taxes, will keep America safe and will restore Detroit to a pre-eminent place as the hub of the global auto industry.

Source

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He forgot to say "read my lips".

The Republican party hard their chance to not raise taxes, and they did it anyway.

Had their chance to keep America safe and couldn't.

Had 8 years to restore Detroit to it's "pre-eminent place" and ignored it.

Case in point:
Earlier in the day, McCain made an unannounced visit to a General Motors Corp. assembly plant in Orion Township, where the Chevy Malibu is made, and issued his strongest statements to date in favor of a $25 billion federal loan package for the auto industry, which he earlier opposed.

More flotsam:
Palin spoke about the need to advance alternative energy to power Michigan-made vehicles.
"I know a little bit about energy and that's going to be my baby when I get to Washington D.C.," she said.

_____________________________________

McCain has flopped more times then my Grandma's pancakes and Palin well you'll have a baby alright it just wont be energy.

Aside from collecting a annual check from the oil companies that every Alaskan gets what does she know about energy? What?

McCain covered for Palin's pale responses:
Asked during a question-and-answer session about her foreign policy experience, with fewer than two years as Alaska's governor, Palin said she'll be ready to lead.
"Ask about any country. You can even play stump the candidate if you want to," she said.
Chimed in McCain: "She understands our national security challenge ... she's absolutely qualified to address every challenge."

Some voices of reason were present to prove women aren't impressed.
Ryan McCarthy, a 31-year-old factory worker and Obama backer who stopped in to see the show because he lives in the neighborhood, said he won't vote for the GOP ticket because "McCain is Bush."

Sen. Debbie Stabenow said of McCain's visit: "He has said 16 times the fundamentals of the economy are strong," which indicates he's out of touch with Michigan voters.


Welcome To Detroit

Granholm Will Make Citizens Foot The Bill Power Companies Should Be Paying.

State's electric rates going up

Legislature OKs package raising bills by up to 12%, requiring more renewable power sources; gov to sign it.

An energy package that will raise residential electric rates by up to 12 percent, require more electricity to be generated by renewable sources and put a cap on competition to the major utilities won final passage in the Legislature Thursday.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has been pushing for expansion of renewable energy for months, will sign the two bills in the long-awaited energy plan "as soon as they reach her desk," spokeswoman Liz Boyd said.

DTE officials said the average ratepayer who has a $75-a-month electric bill will pay an additional $6 to $6.50 monthly next year and $8 to $9 a month in the fifth year as a result of the legislation.

Consumers Energy plans to put up a $2-billion coal-fired plant and DTE wants to construct an $8-billion nuclear plant.

Competition from alternative electric companies will be limited to 10 percent of the total market. "The legislation has provided the certainty necessary to construct new power plants," said DTE Chairman Anthony Earley Jr.

The strict limits on competition "will create the largest residential rate increase in Michigan's history," said Barry Cargill, executive director of the Customer Choice Coalition, a group of businesses that favor competition. He estimates the overall impact of the two bills will be an increase of $475 million a year for utility customers, which amounts to $13 a month for DTE customers and a little less for Consumers ratepayers.

Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, who voted against the bills, said: "This will result in massive rate hikes at a time when we can least afford it." He said in the wake of 8.9 percent unemployment in the state "what do you say to those who have just lost their jobs and now ask, 'How can I pay for this?' "

Source

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WTF Granholm !?!?!

9% of the state is unemployed and as much as 11% of Detroit and you will raise our price on power 12% ?

Do you have a growth on your brain or something?

Why the hell should Michigan citizens be DEMANDED to foot the bill for new power plant construction that the power companies should be paying....Ford, GM and Chrysler don't ask me for money for new plants....oh wait bad example, yes they do....banks don't demand money from me when they have foreclosed loans....uhmm wait another bad example.

I guess nationalising everything IS the way to go.

It would just be wrong for us to ask poor poor power companies known for never making a profit large enough to pay for their own improvements and to further ensure they remain a monopoly by changing the law to limit competition of new alternative energy improvements facilities to a mere 10%.

How very far sighted Jenny...why didn't you offer massive tax breaks for those up and coming breakthrough companies to COME to Michigan and invest in its people and technology...why do you think Compuware and GM are in Detroit,?

The beautiful scenery?

No they are here because Detroit makes massive concessions to get and keep them here.

Jenny do you have stock in the current power companies or what?

The amount of jobs to be gained by making them a virtual monopoly is so ridiculously low that it will never justify you signing this bill into law.

Nice to know you can destroy a few more lives before leaving office.

And by the way to those folks who see me bashing Republicans constantly , Jennifer Granholm is a Democrat, a crappy, back dealing, self serving Democrat but a Democrat none the less....what a embarrassment to the party.


Welcome To Detroit

Sarah Palin Chooses REALLY Bad Email Names.

A group called Anonymous has claimed responsibility for the hacking of Mrs Palin's Yahoo e-mail.

The hacking comes amid questions about whether Mrs Palin used personal e-mail to conduct state business.

According to law, all e-mails relating to the official business of government must be archived and not destroyed. However, personal e-mails can be deleted.

Mrs Palin is currently under investigation in Alaska for alleged abuse of power while governor.

It posted five screenshots, two digital photos of Mrs Palin's family and an address book to the whistle-blowing Wikileaks website. The information was taken from Ms Palin's gov.palin@yahoo.com e-mail account.

One message exposed is apparently an exchange between Mrs Palin and the deputy governor of Alaska, Sean Parnell, who is seeking election to Congress.

Another is between Mrs Palin and friend Amy McCorkell, in which the latter says she is praying for the governor and adds: "Don't let the negative press get you down!"

The family photographs of the Palins posted on Wikileaks are not thought to have previously been in the public domain.

Subsequent investigation has shown that the gov.palin@yahoo.com account has been shut down along with another, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, also owned by Mrs Palin.

Source

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First of all, why is Sarah so idiotic about her "anonymous" email names?

C'mon! GOV.sarah@yahoo.com and GOV.palin@yahoo.com ...what kind of moron does this?

I forgot, its ego...only ego would have driven someone to let the WHOLE world know that their anonymous private email account if from the Governor.

How many Governor Sarahs and Governor Palins are there on the internet...DUH!

You never see JANITOR.joe@yahoo.com or ACCOUNTANT.paul@yahoo.com

On the plus side at least she didn't use something riske` like Gov.barracudamouth@yahoo.com or Gov.nicerack.palin@yahoo.com

Also to Anonymous, although I personally do not condone crime...civil disobedience like this is almost always appreciated by the masses.

The general public appreciates a thumb of the nose to authority figures, it is what makes us American and gives Anonymous the appearance of a Robin Hood mentality.

Others would argue it as Palin's right to privacy stolen but is it so different if Palin's pro-life stance stole that choice from every woman in this country?

Or that the GOP would have persons whom were foreclosed on unable to vote?

And again, it probably never would have happened if she was the least bit tech savvy.

John McCain doesn't know where the Internet is but hears those dang teens talking about that inter-thingy and Sarah Palin uses anonymous log in names so ridiculously easy to decipher as to be cracked by what is possibly a collection of kids from a junior high school some where.

Are these the people we really want with their fingers on the button?


Googles collection of current stories on this.


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Stealth Cat

On a lighter note since this blog gets so heavy most of the time, I decided to put up this video, it cracks me up.


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Does The GOP Wants To Pick And Choose Who Can Vote?

Voter eligibility goes to court: Last week, a report on the Michigan Messenger, a Web-based news site, quoted a Republican county chairman in Michigan saying the party was going to challenge the voting status of homeowners who had faced foreclosure. State party officials later denied the report, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy the Obama campaign and its lead lawyer, Perkins Coie’s Bob Bauer. The Obama campaign filed a suit Monday to limit the ability of Republicans to challenge the eligibility of voters in Michigan. Here’s the WSJ report.

Bauer said he had evidence that Michigan Republicans were engaging in a “particularly ugly brand” of voter challenging, using lists of foreclosed homeowners to compile a voter roll that could be used to challenge the residency of citizens who show up at the polls in November. Bauer field suit in federal court in eastern Michigan on behalf of the campaign and three Michigan residents in foreclosure procedures, seeking an injunction to stop the activity.

In an interview with the WSJ, James Carabelli, the Republican Party Chairman of Macomb County, denied making such comments. But Bauer said that, despite the denials, “It’s impossible to believe something this explicit was made up.”

Source

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So If you lost your home because of the piss poor Michigan economy, you probably are going to vote for the Democratic party...looks like the GOP doesn't want that to happen and would attempt to take away your right to vote to make sure you don't get that chance.

Can you imagine going to vote at the polls AND BEING TURNED AWAY?....In the United States of America?

Talk about a class separation in this country of the have and have nots...only home owners to vote?

Technically those who rent could fall under this umbrella too...after all if they don't "own" a home their residency could be challenged as well right?

Is this who you want running the country? A party totally prepared to take away your constitutional rights even before they are elected?

Say it can't happen? Oh but it can, you already have lost some your right under the patriot act, you probably just didn't care.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin


Welcome To Detroit

Fed To Lend $85 billion Of Our Money To AIG

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday said the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will lend up to $85 billion to the American International Group in a plan aimed at saving the insurer from a "disorderly failure" that could wreak economic havoc.

The Fed said under the two-year facility the U.S. government will receive a 79.9 percent equity interest in AIG and has the right to veto payment of dividends to common preferred shareholders in the deal, which has the full support of the Treasury Department.

"The Board determined that, in current circumstances, a disorderly failure of AIG could add to already significant levels of financial market fragility and lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth and materially weaker economic performance," the Fed said in a statement.

Source

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This is what you get when the government deregulates per republican economic doctrine.

That doctrine being when you deregulate those with the most money from making more money it will enable those "big wheels" to drive the economy through further investment.

Unfortunately what the republican doctrine does NOT take into effect is that same volatility that enables massive profits also enables massive loss.

This is further outlined in the book "Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency," by The Post's Barton Gellman.

I recommend it.

So where do we stand today?

$100 billion for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
$25-50 billion for the auto industry
$85 billion to AIG
$467 billion for military contracts since 2006

I don't have enough toes to count that high, but what I do know is I still can't find a job in this market.

What the government does in situations like this and has for the last 60 years is print more money.

This results in devaluing your wage and mine providing we have jobs and amounts to an unauthorized taxation.

On the plus side it was sunny and nice outside in Detroit.


Welcome To Detroit

Christine Beatty's Lawyer Is Delusional

No deal: Beatty heading to trial

Prosecutor toughened offer; legal experts say mayor's ex-aide waited too long to avoid harsh punishment.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's former top aide, Christine Beatty, will take her chances in court after rejecting a plea deal Monday in her criminal case stemming from the text message scandal.

"What's next? Acquittal, and don't be surprised when that happens," Beatty's lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, said after three hours of closed-door plea-bargaining Monday in the chambers of Wayne Circuit Judge David Groner.

Source

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Aquittal? ..HA HA HA HA HA HA .....sigh...thats funny.

Mayer Morganroth must be so used to feeding Beatty such a line of crap he has decided it looks delicious and must be eating some of it himself.

Further voices of reason continue...

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It isn't unusual for a prosecutor's plea deal to include harsher terms after being rejected, said Larry Dubin, professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. But the three-month increase in jail time seemed steep, he said, and may be an indication of Worthy's confidence in convicting Beatty at trial.

"More typically, when you make a last-ditch effort to resolve a matter, you do not increase the demands, but rather attempt to resolve the differences. So I can only assume the prosecution, as of this point, is willing to go to trial," Dubin said. "It may seem to (Beatty) and her lawyers that her only opportunity to do better than the prosecutor's offers is to go to trial."

The perjury case against Beatty also may be stronger than the case against Kilpatrick because questions put to Beatty during her testimony at a police whistle-blower lawsuit trial last year had been more direct, Dubin said.

Beatty's lawyers are likely to play for sympathy before a jury by portraying her as a victim of the mayor's ambition or his affections, he said.

"She certainly appears vulnerable," Dubin said. "All of the women involved with the mayor could be perceived as victims."

Source

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Christine Beatty was no victim, far from it.

Aside from servicing him sexually, she was the mayor's right hand tool, the hammer for nails he pointed out needing hammering.

The circus continues and the cost grows...

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Morganroth added that he is unconcerned about the possibility of Kilpatrick testifying at that trial.

"I don't think we'd be hurt by the mayor," Morganroth said.

Beatty made no comments Monday as she pushed her way through a crowd of reporters leaving the courtroom. Her pastor, the Rev. Ronald Griffin followed, waving his hand to move the crowd. "Please. Respect! Please," Griffin said.

Morganroth declined to say what the sticking point in negotiations might be, except that the offers were "unreasonable." Although he said he had no quarrel with the four assistant prosecutors with whom he negotiated Monday, he made a reference to Worthy's personal impact on the process by adding he was frustrated "with what one person is doing."

Source

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Christine having her reverend follow her around like a lap dog cracks me up, she should have had him with her in the hotel rooms as she was servicing the mayor...he probably could have down some good then....she is wearing him like a rag of humility now and he is going along with it for whatever reason...probably is filling his congregations seats about now and his face is in the paper and on the news...certainly a man of God.

Here is some of Christine and Kwami really thought of monogamy, victimization and justice...

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9/12/02, 10:38 p.m., during trip to Washington, D.C.

Christine Beatty: Can I just come and lay down in your room until you get back?

Kwame Kilpatrick: Yes.

9/13/02, 9:02 a.m. (the next morning)

KK: They were right outside the door. They [the mayor's bodyguards] had to have heard everything…

CB: So we are officially busted! LOL

KK: LOL LOL! Damn that. Never busted. Busted is what you see! LOL. …

CB: LOL, LOL. Damn, so they have to walk in before you conceed busted! LOL.

KK: Hell yeah. Walk in.

10/8/2002, 10:18 a.m.

KK: I’m fine. Need a break. I want to get out of town w/you. Check on resorts outside of Houston.

10/16/02, 11:48 p.m.

KK: I’ve been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for 3 days…relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love.

10/31/2002, 5:28 p.m.

KK: I’ll feel better once I’m holding you.

CB: You didn’t say whether or not we are trying for some time tonight.

KK: Definitely. I’m getting a room. Damn that!

CB: LOL. Okie dokie.

(Kilpatrick later tells her to pick up room key at Marriott)

11/1/2002, 12:28 a.m.

KK: 6301 or 6302?

CB: Definitely 6302! 6301 has two double beds.

4/8/2003, 8:55 p.m.

KK: I’m at Laker game. The security doesn’t believe I’m mayor. Mike is pulling out all kind of shirt to prove it.

CB: And, did you miss me, sexually?

KK: Hell yeah! You couldn’t tell. I want some more. Don’t sleep!

Source

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Christine Beatty sure doesn't appear like a victim to me..let's ask fired Detroit Policeman Gary Brown.

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BEATTY TESTIMONY, Aug. 28, 2007, at police whistle-blower trial:

Beatty: Again, Mr. Brown was not fired.

WHAT SHE SAID IN TEXT MESSAGES

• May 11, 2003

Jamaine Dickens, Kilpatrick press secretary: Freep called. Says they hear that mayor fired Gary Brown from DPD. Want to confirm. I know the chief hires and fires, but is he gone?

Beatty: Yes he is gone. You don't need to say that the mayor fired him. He was simply let go. Let me know before you make a comment.

• May 15, 2003, 11:02 a.m.

Beatty: I'm sorry that we are going through this mess because of a decision that we made to fire Gary Brown. I will make sure that the next decision is much more thought out. Not regretting what was done at all, but thinking about how we can do things smarter.

TESTIMONY

Police attorney Mike Stefani: During the time period 2001 to 2003, were you and Mayor Kilpatrick either romantically or intimately involved with each other?

Beatty: No.

Stefani: Did you ever send the mayor, or receive from the mayor, a text message which was of an intimate or sexual nature?

Beatty: No.

TEXT MESSAGES

• 9/24/2002

CB: Last night when I was laying on your shoulder in the car and you held my face and sang whatever song it was, that felt so good. It was just one of those little moments when you just made me fall some more.

• 9/28/2002

KK: Where are you?

CB: At the residence inn in Madison hgts.

KK: What rm?

CB: ...I'm in room 311 in bldg 3 in the back.

• 10/7/2002

CB: OK, I'm feeling like I want another night like the most recent Saturday at the Residence Inn! You made me feel so damn good that night. As you can see I can't let it go! ...

• 4/8/2003

CB: And, did you miss me, sexually?

KK: Hell yeah! You couldn't tell. I want some more. Don't sleep!

Source

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Well Thanks for portraying yourself as the victim Christine, I am sure the authentic victimized women of America appreciate the ruse you are using now in court.

You see as a woman of color whom was a role model, you had and have an obligation to all the other women of color who struggle daily against real injustice, real hardship, real prejudice...your continuing example of riding this dog and pony show out to it's just conclusion just shows how far from a role model you actually were.

It's been a fun ride but just in time for the holidays it looks like your goose is cooked.

Welcome To Detroit

Palin 'Unlikely' To Observe The Law Like The Little People

Palin 'Unlikely' to Meet With Prosecutor

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is unlikely to meet with a special prosecutor looking into whether she or other state officials improperly pushed to punish a trooper, a spokesman for John McCain's presidential campaign announced Monday.

Since Palin was named as McCain's running mate Aug. 29, the campaign has dismissed the state legislature's investigation into her dismissal of the state's director of public safety, saying that Democrats are exploiting the probe for political gain.

McCain campaign spokesman Ed O'Callaghan said that Palin is "unlikely to cooperate" with the investigation, which he called "tainted."

Palin's husband, Todd, was subpoenaed in the probe last week. O'Callaghan said he did not know whether Todd Palin would challenge the subpoena.

Sarah Palin has said she fired Walter Monegan over disagreements about budget priorities. Monegan says he received repeated e-mails and phone calls from both Palins and her staff expressing dismay over the continued employment of state trooper Mike Wooten, whose divorce from Sarah Palin's sister was ugly.

Todd Palin and 12 other people were subpoenaed Friday by a joint committee, made up of three Republicans and two Democrats, after prosecutor Stephen Branchflower said that someone may have attempted to deny worker's compensation benefits to Wooten.

No subpoena was sought or issued for the governor. When the investigation was announced less than two months ago, Palin said she welcomed it and promised her full cooperation.

Source

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Nice, so this is how you lead by example?

Use your office to inflict revenge and then avoid the law when Lady Justice attempts to make her due diligence?

Is this what Sarah would bring to the office of vice-president or worse yet the presidency?

Sarah you just made Detroit Daily Dirt's Tool of the Month for September 2008.

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