Guns for Drugs for Butter

Recent rise in gun smuggling, should we all get one? Will there be another American Revolution?
People are starting to realize that the decriminalization of pot isn't such a bad idea after all, opponents argue that marijuana is the number one cash crop for drug cartels in Mexico (everyone knows that the good stuff comes from elsewhere)
You can still afford to dine out after adopting the Quantity vs. Quality method, I have never been so motivated to open a cheap shitty restaurant (does anyone want to go to Damon's Frugal Friday or Halfsteak Wednesday at Craftsteak, it may be a 2 hr. wait but its haute cheap)
Cut your phone off and use google/aim/yahoo v chat, cut down cable to basic and a few other unnecessary life things and you can save around $4,000 a year.
People are giving up hope on finding a job... globally
Federal Government takes 36% stake in Citigroup, now I'm ready for my bailout, Quote Christine Romans (CNN financial correspondent) "It's gonna have more of a say they say in what goes on with Citi." - Your money is safe in the bank....
Government plans for Iraq: We're going to Afghanistan! Keeping a residual force in a "non-combat" role of (almost inserted a $ here) 35-50,000 troops
Can the U.S. win in Afghanistan? Did the Soviets win in Afghanistan? Will we step on/clear all the landmines in Afghanistan? Are we the new Soviet Union? Do you think Robert Kaplan is excited for a Peshawar Part II?
Global Warming Initiative that is going to boost (increase) our utility bills
"By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world." - President Barack Obama
Pakistan is pissed again
Brand new video of Mumbai terrorist attacks surfaces

News Run-Down

Royal Bank of Scotland loses $A61.34 Billion
If you would like to go Cardigan-less like Michelle Obama and are not a youthful 25 yr. old that works out, then the key is to make sure that you are covered everywhere else. Sleeveless, while staying modest and being covered from neck to knee, gives a youthful, but respectable look.
The $3.66 Trillion Pie: Obama's official budget released - $1.75 trillion deficit will slowly decline to $533 billion by 2013
19 month withdrawal for U.S. troops in Iraq
Hey Obama can we get a report of that daily C.I.A. briefing?
Man points laser and blinds man in helicopter
Tiger Woods still swingin' after reconstructive knee surgery
The viral pedaling pooch video - OMGz check it out LoLz!
People in Fargo North Dakota: "What Recession?" - Booming business in Fargo, Let's go! Unemployment rate is 3.4%, Aerospace firm is growing in personnel, Homes are not losing value, Largest budget surplus in the nation, Did not get caught up in sub prime mortgages, Conservative bankers and savers had only 3 foreclosures last year
GM posts $9.6 Billion loss, loss of $29 per share - Give more bailout money to the Automobile Industry, so they can not hire people back, spend more money and make more cars, so people can take out those loans and buy those cars that were made after all of those cars that people didn't buy in the first place.
Hillary Clinton butts in on child custody case: Mrs. Goldman took her child to family vacation in Brazil and never brought him back. After ex-Mrs. Goldman died, Brazilian court gave child custody to the husband she married after David Goldman. Hillary is going to hang out with Brazilian Prime Minister and is planning on bringing it up in conversation about how they are in violation of an International treaty.
Geert Wilders "Al Qaeda of the Netherlands" comes to America - he's not against the Koran, he's just concerned with the way terrorists interpret it, right?
Straight A's won't get you into/keep you in college anymore, no more rewards for getting your education on, it's all about the Benjamins

C.E.O. of the Day: John A. Thain - Merrill Lynch

John A. Thain
The last of the Chairmen/C.E.O's of Merrill Lynch before the Bank of America merger
Resigned Jan. 22, 2009 after losses were found to be far greater than projected for the Company - Was supposed to assume the position of president of global banking, securities, and wealth management (freals?)
Former C.E.O. of the NYSE
Was President/C.E.O. of Goldman Sachs
He made $300 million in stock at G.S. and stabbed Jon Corzine in the back
After leaving Goldman he had his choice between Citigroup and Merrill Lynch to head up
Merrill had the highest offer: a $15million signing bonus, with $50 million a yr. in compensation, $120 million a yr. if you add stock bonuses etc...
He received $83.1 million in 2007, earning him an honorable mention as one of the highest paid Executives among the S&P 500 companies
Mentioned to the compensation committee at M.L. that he should be paid $10 million for "saving" M.L. by selling it to Bank of America
Jan. 16, 2009 - Bank of America reported that Merrill suffered a loss of $15 billion for the 4th quarter of 2008
On Jan. 22, 2009, it was revealed how John A. Thain struggled to keep Merrill Lynch afloat in early 2008 - Office Renovations, that's the key!
The trick to hiding any record loss is to cover it up with 2 area rugs totaling $131,000. That won't just do, ya gots ta put some feng shui up in it: $68, 000 antique credenza, 4 pairs of $28,000 curtains, $87,000 guest chairs, $11,000 fabric for a Roman shade, $25,000 mahogany pedestal table, $15,000 sofa,
$11,000 custom coffee table, $24,000 Regency chairs, $18,000 George IV Desk, $2700 for 6 wall sconces, 6 dining room chairs for $37,000, $5,000 mirror, $13,000 chandelier, 40 yards of $5,000 fabric for the walls, $1400 waste can, and what good is an executive office without that $35,000 commode with legs... Did I hit $1.22 million yet? Surely the interior decorator made it just under the $2 million corporate money budget he set for all of that.

Jo(h)n said it! Trickle Up Theory

I have been meaning to write about this for quite some time now, and it boggled me why no one had even tried to mention it on the news or some sort of national T.V.-Good Morning America sort of show. Maybe it's that it makes too much sense. Then, it finally happened, those words poured out of Jon Stewart's mouth like liquid gold. Then I find out later that John McCain touched on that idea before?! The Trickle-Up Theory/Effect, "Why not just give the money back to the people?"

*Let's say we actually rallied together and demanded they take all of that initial $700 billion bailout money back and re-distribute it equally among all of the taxpayers... hmmm what would happen.....

*In 2007, there was a reported number of 138 million taxpayers out of 303,824,640 people in the entire population of the United States. If you equally divided that amount amongst taxpayers, we would all get $2000. So that's what it cost us. We each paid $133 out of that $2000 for that $18.4 billion bonus package btw- Girls, let's put on our heels, go to their bars, and get back that money in cocktails.

*Let's say one-third of that $825 extra billion dollar stimulus package came back around to taxpayers along with that original $700 billion (of course this would never happen) , giving us a grand total of $925 billion back to taxpayers - that would put roughly $7,000 back into our pockets-accounts. What would you do with an extra $7,000 on your tax return? Go out and buy shit - duh! Wouldn't that stimulate the economy? The average household carries $8,000 or more in debt, so maybe a lot of people could pay off some debt to those financial companies in need.


*I can't tell you how much time I spent looking at a bunch of zeroes, so feel free to correct me if I have some wrong figures posted. Don't forget that U.S. govt. had already spent $412 billion before the bailout in Fiscal Year 2008.