Say Anything Blog

It appears that the CIA is taking a larger interest in what’s happening on the internet.

Rob, you could be a marked man.

http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?doc_id=183570&f_src=securitysentinel

After it was revealed that NDSU President Joseph Chapman spent $22,000 on a trip to Washington DC, Chapman has decided to resign.  Even as he is going out the door, his comment was; “..whenever I do anything, I always do it with the best interest of the institution in mind”.  How can he say that spending $22,000 to attend a Presidential Inauguration is in the best interest of the university?  Even if it was in his words, “a tremendous opportunity to represent NDSU”, there is no reason why he had to bring his entire family on a chartered jet and staying in $4300 hotel rooms.  He could have taken a lesson from his peer Robert Kelley, UND President, who spent $2175 for the same trip. 
In addition to the family vacation to DC, Chapman has overseen cost overruns in excess of $1 million on the University Presidential Palace.  As if that weren’t bad enough, with an annual salary in excess of $400,000 he just couldn’t seem to stay within budget on his $35,000 discretionary spending account.  And now he says he is resigning because “it just isn’t fun anymore”.  Well, cry me a river!!
The truth of the matter is that Chapman, like many other politicians in all levels of government, just doesn’t get it.  He is an employee of the people of the State of North Dakota.  As our employee, one of his primary responsibilities is to utilize our very limited resources in the most effective manner, to get the maximum return on our investment.  Not to use our money and our facilities as if they were his own private kingdom. 
Whether it is a university president wasting our money, Senators who schedule “listening forums” yet don’t listen, Congressmen who completely avoid their constituents so as not to hear their concerns, or County officials who think that they should be exempt from courthouse security rules, it is clearly evident that this problem of government official elitism permeates through every level of County, State, and Federal government.
We all need to make our voices heard loudly and clearly as we put these elitists in their place.  For those of you elitists who happen to be reading this letter, I will state this as plainly as possible.  You are an employee of the PEOPLE.  If you cannot grasp that fact, it is time for you to find a different line of work!  Take Chapman’s cue and start another career.

I received a personalized email today from Byron Dorgan thanking me for my comments regarding health care.  In the letter, he made a number of promises about things he will NOT support.  Here are a few of those oaths;

“Many North Dakotans are worried that if Congress passes a new health care plan, they could receive less care. There have been a lot of inaccurate charges from critics about what will and won’t be in the bill.

Here’s what I will not support in a health care reform bill.

»»I won’t support a government takeover of the health care system and I won’t support anything that rations health care.

»»I won’t support a health care bill that provides coverage for those who are here illegally.

»»I won’t support anything that doesn’t maintain the current ban on using federal funds to pay for abortion.

»»I won’t support anything that undermines Medicare coverage for the elderly or health care for veterans.”

Hmm.  Interesting promises, but I wonder how he intends to keep them.  The Baucus bill mandates cuts to Medicare spending.  Of course we all know that the only way to cut spending is to limit services.  To me that means rationing health care.

Though neither the Baucus plan or the House bill state that coverage will be extended to illegals, we all know that President Obama and leading Dems are working towards extending amnesty to all illegals.  So irregardless of Dorgan’s oath not to support coverage to illegals, he knows full well that his promise is a moot point.

He promises not to support government funded abortion, yet both the Baucus plan and the House bill absolutely do have provisions to cover abortions.  So will he vote against either plan when they come to the Senate?

And his last promise not to support anything that cuts health care for seniors or veterans is going to be tough to keep.  Both the Baucus plan and the House bill call for drastic cuts to Medicare spending.  Again, the only way to cut that spending is to cut services and ration care.  Seniors and veterans are absolutely going to be affected.

But hey!  I’ve got his promise in writing, so I can just lay back and feel comfortable that he’s got my back, Right?  I think not.  Just more double speak from the king stooge of North Dakota politics.  To borrow a line from Rep. Joe Wilson; “YOU LIE”!

AP writes that July ‘09 is shaping up to be one of the deadliest months on record in the Afghan war, and even approaching the highest death toll of the Iraq war. 

Where is the outrage?  Why are no reporters demanding to be present as they roll the coffins off the planes at Andrews air base?  Why is this not splashed all over the front pages of the major newspapers?  Why aren’t Katie Couric and Brian Williams having meltdowns on their national news casts?

The level of hypocrisy is incredible as the “state run media” continue to protect their Messiah.

At last, it’s official.  It’s been said.  Not a tongue in cheek reference, not a sarcastic remark, not an absurd illustration.  A Newsweek writer came out and said in all seriousness that Obama is a God.

I wonder then, how the Muslim world will react to this news?  I mean, after all,  the Muslims believe that Allah is the one true God.  Anyone who worships any other God is an infidel and should be put to death. 

So how can they accept the word of one god, Barack Hussein Obama, over the word of Allah?  Interesting dilemna.

And even more puzzling to me is why then does Obama need Secret Service protection?  Why does he need Air Force One?  If he is God, he is immortal and needs no protection.  If he is God, can’t he simply just will his presence anywhere in the world and he will just magically appear?  I have this image of Moses and the burning bush in mind.  “Moses, the economy is in a recession.  I need you to go out and spend.  Spend it all, spend your children’s money.  Spend your children’s children’s money.  Go forth and be a socialist”.

Boy, I really need to rethink my religious beliefs now.  Thank God…I mean thank Obama for having Newsweek tell me the real truth.  I’m a saved man now.

If you don’t believe me, just read the recent memo from the Dept. of Homeland Security.  I believe in right wing causes such as the right to life, economic conservatism, low taxes, limited government, the power of the free market, and individual liberty.

Therefore, I must be planning activities that place my fellow citizens in danger and I must be closely montitored.  Does anyone notice the coincidental timing of this memo’s distribution just days before the hundreds of Taxpayer Tea Parties are to be held? 

This is just further proof of how far this administration is willing to go in its efforts to take this country deep into socialism. 

Fellow Americans, our country is in greater danger than we have ever experienced since our Founding Fathers stood up to King George. 

The true terrorists are the ones in Washington who are leading this country to the brink of destruction.

I am proud to call myself a Patriot.

At what point did it become acceptable for an elected official to start threatening private citizens?  Obama becomes more frightening with each passing day.

Obama and his administration are “keeping score”.  Obama and his team are partnering with MoveOn.org and other liberal interest groups to target fellow Democrats who are not fully on board with the Obama/Pelosi socialist expansionist agenda. 

Among those being targeted is our very own Senator Kent Conrad.  My advice to Obama, go ahead target Conrad.  Sanction him, we don’t want him anyway.  Hell, why don’t you go full out Marxist and pick him up and put him in a re-education center for an indefinite period?  We don’t want him anyway.

The arrogance and egotsm of Obama just keeps increasing.  His first visit to meet the Queen, and what gift does he give her?  An IPOD loaded with audio recordings of his speeches. 

Our nation’s staunchest ally for more than 200 years has been Great Britain. The Queen has reigned since 1952.  What audacity does it take to actually think that his speeches contain anything of matter to her.

One wonders if he actually thinks that she sould bow before his majesty.

In case one has any doubts, recent headlines reassure that the Obama administration and key Democrats are taking this nation towards a full blown Marxist state.  Here are just some of the most blatant clues;

- Democrats propose a 90% tax on private citizens who received FULLY APPROVED bonuses
- CEO of GM is ousted
- Sen. Kerry proposes stricter gun controls
- House Committee approves the “Pay for Performance Act” which will allow the government to control the wages paid to ALL employees of a corporation
- Geithner states that he would approve of a “One World” currency
- Obama proposes a draconian cap and trade bill that will severely impact the coal/electrical industry
- Congress quietly passes an omnibus bill that restricts an additional 2 million acres of energy rich land from oil/gas/and coal development.

The list goes on and on.  There is no mistaking it.  If this is allowed to continue, this country will be so rooted in socialism we will never be able to recover.  Americans, wake up!!  Get involved and help to stop this from happening.  Write letters, call your congressmen, get involved in grass roots events like the tea parties.  We must stop this outright socialist agenda.

President Obama and the Senators and Congressmen (Democrats and Republicans alike) should all be subject to legal action for placing the lives of AIG executives and families in jeopardy. 

Ultimately, only one executive is responsible for the financial results of a corporation.  The CEO.  Nobody else.  The vast majority of these executives did nothing wrong.  They were simply doing their jobs.  Through hard work and initiative, they worked their way up through the organization.  They had proven that they were the most talented and knowledgeable persons for the job. 

This happens in almost every large corporation in the world.  Those corporations have a lot invested in these employees and want to retain them.  One way to keep valuable employees is to pay retention bonuses. 

These bonuses may not be indicative of the financial results of the business.  In fact, it could possibly be argued that if not for the actions of some of these talented employees, a corporation’s financial results might be far worse than actually experienced. 

I don’t know if that is the case with AIG, but one thing is for certain.  Most, if not all of these employees are normal everyday people just like you and me.  They are not criminals, their spouses and children are not criminals.  They did nothing to deserve the ire, wrath, and outright hatred that is being directed their way.

Like all of us, they are victims.  Victims of the misdirection, dare I even say, lies of the Obama administration and its willing cohorts.

If, God forbid, anything happens to these people as a result of this hyped up outrage, I hope that any Prosecutor goes after the real culprit, Barack Hussein Obama!!  Like the CEO, he is the one ultimately responsible for the results of the organization.

It seems perhaps that Congressman Pomeroy and Senator Conrad think we don’t notice the little details.

Earlier this week, Congressman Pomeroy stood up in front of Congress and the nation and threw a childish fit about the AIG bonus payments.  The Congressman seems to think that we here in North Dakota don’t pay attention to the little details.  Like the little detail of how he cast a vote approving the very bill that actually approved the payment of those bonuses. 

By casting his affirmative vote, he must have been in favor of the bonuses, right?  Or could it be that maybe he didn’t know that little detail was included in the bill?  But how could that be?  After all, he told us that he had read that bill “from cover to cover”.  So we’re left with only two conclusions.  Either he lied to us about reading the bill.  Or he knew that the bill allowed those payments but he thought that he could stand up in front of the cameras with his feigned indignation and we would never notice the little details.

Senator Conrad also appears to underestimate our ability to notice the little details.  One of the most willing accomplices in supporting every bailout and stimulus bill, his votes have helped introduce spending that will create budgets in excess of one trillion dollars per year for the next ten years.

Yet over the last few days, he has suddenly been posing as a “budget hawk” and preaching about the dangers of deficit spending and rising government debt. 

Again, we are left with only two conclusions.  He is really a big government liberal who could care less about deficits.  Or he, like Pomeroy, thinks that we will never notice the little details. 

Perhaps it is both Pomeroy and Conrad who fail to see the little detail that they have long ago forgotten the fiscally conservative values of their constituents here in North Dakota. They seem not to notice the little detail that ours is one of the few states that have a budget surplus and is in sound financial state. 

I bet they’ll notice the little details after their next ballot count comes up too short to send them back to Washington.

I live in North Dakota and I am employed by one of the largest financial corporations in the world.  Our world headquarters is in Europe.  I won’t mention the company name or the country.  They are really irrelevant anyway.

I am not an executive.  I make no financial decisions.  I currently do not manage any people.  I am an individual contributor. 

Our compay utilizes a “variable compensation plan”.  This means that employees are given a base salary.  They are also enrolled in an Incentive Compensation Plan.  This means that at the beginning of the year, each employee works with their manager to set objectives, both personal and organizational.  Then, at the end of the year, the employee undergoes a review to determine whether he met his objectives and is given a performance rating ranging from Needs Improvement to Exceeds Expectations.  If the employee meets or exceeds his objectives, he is eligible for a bonus.  The amount of that bonus is dependent on the annual financial results of the company.  If the company meets or exceeds its objectives, the bonuses are generous, but not exorbitant.  Remember, this occurs at ALL levels of the compay from CEO to entry level.

Late in 2008, our company announced that due to the poor economy, we would undergo severe cost reductions at all levels of the company.  We divested some business holdings that did not fit into our core business model.  Our “C” Executives agreed to forego any bonuses, and they severely reduced the bonus pool for all employees. 

Keep in mind that this all occured long before the AIG bonus scandal erupted.  Keep in mind that our company received NO US Federal Bailout monies.

This month, those of us who qualified by meeting our objectives were paid a bonus.  It was severely limited, and for many of us, it amounted to less than a full month of base pay.  Definitely not exorbitant!!

Today however, we were told that after much negative publicity in the European press, our Chairman in Europe has agreed to ask the top 200 highest paid employees and their immediate employees to “voluntarily” refund their bonus.  Combined, that is about 1200 employees.  In addition, he announced that if the amount refunded does not meet the treshold he has set, that he may ask ALL EMPLOYEES to refund their bonus.

To make a long story short, I am now a victim of class envy.  I’m not a millionaire executive.  I’m not a financial decision maker.  Between my wife and I, we make less than 100k per year, far less. 

And this, my friends, is how it starts.  That long slide into outright socialism.  Use envy to pit one class against another.  Slowly, the target of envy moves a little lower.  And lower.  Until eventually it is neighbor pitted against neighbor.  Each one making sure that there is “equity” and “fairness”.  Key words that really mean nobody should be rewarded for excellence.  The death of initiative.  The death of freedom.  The death of democracy.