okay sometimes i get angry

about certain things that probably don't deserve the level of "anger" i'm experiencing....but here's something that, while hilarious in some respects, makes me angry on others....

okay- so can we all admit now that the only reason barry is a good "speaker" is because he's reading the crap other people wrote for him to say? and can we admit that it's embarrassing to have our leader rely on a teleprompter for something like that?

okay- now for the anger part...you cannot tell me that if this had happened to president bush, the media would have let this go. no- we all know, even you hard core liberals who somehow managed to stick with me so far (you know, with me using logic and all i hope you haven't gotten confused)- know that front page of the new york times would have been some comment about how stupid president bush was because of this type of gaffe. don't believe me? how many times have we been subjected to listening to any of president bush's "flubs" while libs laugh and knee slap and say "see look- he's a retard"...but yet, the only people talking about dear leader's flub is the foreign press. interesting...

i think i need to stop reading the news for a while and focus on class....

wow!

so the talk today is all about the fed's trillion dollar stimulus. i have to laugh at this, not because it's funny, but because i see this as a huge opportunity for republicans, which they will no doubt squander. wake up! we just passed an $800B stimulus last month and now this is another trillion dollar one. um, so does that mean we can just go right ahead and say the $800B one is a failure already? or that it had nothing to do with stimulus, as we suspected all along, but more about getting pork projects funded so b.o. could say he tried to create jobs and stuff? sigh- this is beginning to get more and more ridiculous. so, in the first 100 days, we're going to have a president who has spent more money (on credit no less) than any other in history in their entire term(s)? is that what we elected? sounds about right. 

another interesting thing to note: as barry was preaching to us about how he felt the pain of the american people and the poor, he signed a $500,000 children's book deal! what the F?! what in god's name is he going to write to children about? 

"dear children. this is the story of how i screwed an entire country out of their existence by somehow imagining that throwing money at a problem would make it go away. i can't be held responsible because i only did what i was told and what i thought would be in the best interest of the people. sorry it didn't work out- but don't feel sorry for me- i got paid a shit-ton of money to write this to you."

now this is what makes me mad

see- i make an entry to my blog (see below entry) and within 2 hours i have more to talk about.

this is the sort of thing i'm talking about.  look who's feigning the outrage over aig the most and then look here and see who benefitted the most from aig contributions.  

am i the only person left if this world who sees this kind of stuff?

not sure about this

hmmm. where to start on this lovely morning? should i be outraged at aig like the rest of the world? or should i point out that our dear leader and his cronies have received pay raises this year without any hint of hesitation on their part. hell- not only did they not hesitate, but the esteemed speaker of the house (herein after referred to as skeletor) refused to even hear a petition by other members of congress to perhaps not give themselves a raise.  it was a "nope- we're getting our money regardless" moment if i've ever seen one.  so, once again, it's do as i say, not as i do for these people.  how can members of congress feign such outrage over executive pay and boni (i like that better than bonuses) when they themselves have decided to keep on receiving automatic pay raises.  correct me if i'm wrong, but these members of congress each earn more than $100,000 per year. i remember the average income of an american citizen to somewhere around $55,000 per year. hmm- so congress gets paid more and doesn't have to do anything- hell, i knew there was a reason i wanted that job.

back to aig for a moment. i could care less that they received boni. what i care about is how we're going to move forward and keep stupid investments from becoming the status quo for corporations.  aig didn't do anything immoral or unethical in their investment decisions- they just made bad decisions.  do i think stupidity should be rewarded? of course not. but do i think we have a real issue on our hands when elected officials are pointing fingers at other people instead of themselves? of course. 

yes, i know "my tax dollars went to paying these boni." um- people, our tax dollars go to a lot worse than executive pay. am i happy that people made $1M + after receiving "bailout money" from the government? no, i'm not happy about it. do i think it's morally wrong or unethical? no i don't. so to sit here and read congressmen (who take bribes and stash money in freezers) pontificate about the morality of this situation really gets me miffed. 

sigh. another day in paradise i suppose.

ignorance or arrogance

i've been home in nc for a few days now (whoo- spring break!) and during that time, my family and i have been discussing whether or not dear leader's slight of the british pm amounts to sheer ignorance or intentional arrogance. i say it's arrogance.

oh- you don't know what i'm talking about? no surprise there, since it's only being reported by a few people. here's the long and short of it- when british pm gordon brown came to the u.s. to visit, he was denied an official state dinner and a joint press conference with dear leader, and the white house also denied any british flags from flying or being posted during any television appearances. when asked about why this occurred, an official in the b.o. whitehouse exclaimed "the uk is no more important than any of the other 192 countries of the united nations." wow- so we're turning our back on our staunchest ally. smart move asshole.

oh wait- it gets better. mr. brown brought three priceless gifts to the white house for the american people. one was a pen holder carved from the same wood that the oval office desk was made from (this in itself is quite an exquisite present- look up the details to find out more). another gift was the signed register (commissioning papers) of the same ship and the third gift was a first edition of winston churchill's biography.

what did b.o. get mr. brown? a set of 25 american dvds. seriously. that's the respect he shows. 25 dvds, including the wizard of oz and et. what the f*ck?!!! i wonder if he even gave them region 2 dvds. (if you know about this, great. if not- the easiest was to say it is that dvds only play in certain regions. i can't buy a dvd at best buy here in the u.s. and send it to myself to watch this summer in oxford unless i have that region's dvd player (or my own that i bring with me)). anyway- going on. mrs. brown even brought fashionable/designer english clothing for the girls. you know what skeletor gave her counterpart? some model air force one planes and marine one helicopters. you can buy those in the damn airport!

the real kick in the pants though, and this is where i completely lose it, is this: the day after 9/11, the uk sent the u.s. a bust of winston churchill in a sign of solidarity- to show that they were in this with us. hussein tries to give it back! if that's not bad enough, mr. brown insists that we keep it, or at least put it in a museum. but no- b.o. packed it up and made him take it back!

wow- people- do you even think about this? do you see what you have elected for our leadership? i'm planning on writing mr. brown and the english people (who i'm supposed to hate, since i'm a scot and all) and apologizing for my country. additionally, i'm going to tell him i work for the smithsonian and i'll gladly place the bust in the museum. and i'll beg and plead with him to send the dvds to me (i'll take 25 dvds to fill my collection) and i'll organize a gift drive here in the u.s. that will embarrass and shame the new administration.

so- as the family has been discussing, and as my dad so eloquently put it last night- "any uneducated redneck good old boy could come up with a better gift to give a visiting dignitary than our shameful president." i couldn't agree more, dad.

the sheer arrogance of this administration is appalling. when asked about this, the president's voices responded by saying "there's been a glitch in the teleprompter. whenever we get that fixed, we're sure mr. hussein will say something more." oh wait- no, that's not what they said. nevermind. their reply was that the president was exhuasted. from what? throwing parties on wednesday nights in the white house where they dine on wagyu beef? jetting around the country to spread his doom and gloom scenarios, but then spending a weekend with his wife in chicago for valentine's day? what else might make him tired? because i know it's not the job he's been elected to do- he hasn't done anything yet except piss off our best friend in the world. what a moron.

here we go again

okay, as i was sitting in saxbys this morning reviewing my slides for my presentation (i need coffee today as i was too amped up last night to sleep), i caught a glimpse on the television of hillary clinton claiming that iran is a serious threat. after getting a mop out of the closet to clean up my mess from dropping coffee all over myself, i still am in awe of the audacity of this move. 

president bush addressed his growing concerns for the possibility of iran (working together with russia perhaps) to become a more hostile nation, and perhaps a future "target" of military force. i remember thinking that bush was going to get slammed for that, and sure enough he did. i also remember that one of the things i found most interesting about clinton's campaign was that she also believed that force might be necessary in iran, and she too, was slammed. however, i hear nothing out of the mouths of the current administration, which previously believed thusly.

so, i wonder what b.o.'s response will be. we just had the secretary of state publicly claim that iran may be a serious threat and may warrant our response. of course, she probably means sanctions and wrist slaps (the typical liberal response of course), but then again, this could set the stage for a showdown between the department of state and the white house. i for one would welcome it, because maybe (okay- i know i'm stretching this way too much, because we all know it would never happen)- but just maybe, some actual journalism will occur and people will stop giving b.o. a free pass on everything he does. maybe someone will actually do something with their paycheck (hey- if you don't want it, i'll take it!) and report the facts and not some imaginary version of what's really going on.

i think i lost it a bit there at the end. eh- screw it. i'm working on my slides now.

joy

after god knows how many resume edits, sleepless nights spent searching "mba-internship-finance-"insert city here", and countless informational interviews- i finally got some long needed news. after a 10 minute interview at the smithsonian, they offered me the position of high potentate. oh wait- i mean, unpaid intern. that's right people- i'm now working for free. oops- i guess that's everyone these days in his highness' realm. but, i won't actually see a paycheck. drat- foiled again- neither will most people i know. 

okay- honestly, let's just say i am strangely relieved. of course i'm still freaking out about the normal things one usually needs money for- bike equipment, $400 gucci loafers. oh- i mean- food, water, and shelter. without an actual income, i'm considering thumbing my nose at the man and either a) going on unemployment for the summer or b) asking for food stamps and federal housing assistance. wouldn't that just take the cake? wait- who said cake? i'm hungry.

but, again- i am happy that all my work has come to something tangible. as it stands now, i will be performing financial models and revenue forecasting for the smithsonian. if all goes well, let's hope i impress enough people to land some interviews or something for next year. i decided to take the offer (as i knew i would anyway) based on the opportunities that might arise from this chance. while only god knows how long we'll continue to flounder around in this financial mess- i cannot in good faith turn something like this down. if all that happens from this is i complete my task and get a firm handshake- the fact that i'll be contributing to something far more important than myself will make me happy. 

while having a discussion with a friend the other night, i was asked what i'm passionate about. my response bordered on the typical guy things- "cars, outdoor activities, etc." but the more i thought about it, the more i realized there are two things i really enjoy in this life- one is making other people laugh (often times at my own expense- but hey, who cares). and the second, as cheesy as it sounds, is to know that i made a difference (albeit even a small one) in someone else's life- particularly young kids. wait a minute, you ask- what does this job offer have to do with any of that? well- i knew going into this interview that the smithsonian funds all kinds of science projects (and all sorts of other things) for disadvantaged children throughout the country. these things aren't cheap, and they require donor funding to keep going. (wait- does this sound like the commercials between sesame street yet?) but in any event, if my contribution to this organization is that i help them realize future revenue growth which in turn can help fund these programs or provide more exhibits for learning, then i'm all for that.

now that my parents have probably fallen over dead for thinking i have turned into some liberal wacko talking about "what about the children" - i think it's time i'll explain some things. do i agree with every exhibit the smithsonian puts up? hell no. do i think there needs to be a museum dedicated to the creationist viewpoint since we have the evolutionary standard everywhere else? well- it would be fantastic, but i doubt it will ever happen. do i believe the earth is warming rapidly and we're the cause? abso-freakin-lutely not!  so then, one might ask, why would i work for an organization that promotes these cause?

i remember a long time ago, when i was home schooled, my parents took us to the discovery place in charlotte nc. i remember it vividly, if only because it instilled this incredible respect i had, and still have, for science and math. (yeah- we all know- i'm weird. deal with it).  in all honesty, i can't remember if there were exhibits talking about evolution or creation or whether or not global warming was being preached.  it was the fascination i had with all these different worlds around me that was imprinted on my young (and quite possibly, much smarter) brain. and therefore, if i can help, just that one tiny bit- and some future generation benefits because of it (in some miniscule way even)- then i'll feel repaid more than if i was killing myself at an i-bank all summer. 

wow!

okay- i swear i hadn't seen this before this morning--- i wrote my piece yesterday early in the morning, and this morning discovered this one... interesting.

job on the horizon?

as i was sitting in my "team room" yesterday (aka the fish bowl), i received a call from the smithsonian institute asking if i would still be interested in working for them this summer on a financial modeling project. 

let's be honest- i was stunned. i've gone this entire year reaching out over and over to countless firms, banks, pe shops, etc. and have grown extremely tired of hearing "well- we like what you bring to the table...but". that damn "but" gets me every time.  so needless to say, the fact that someone called and asked if i was still interested was a huge boost to the old ego. however, there was a "but" attached to this prospect as well. the huge "but" being that the internship is unpaid. 

excuse me while i collect my visions of getting an MBA and perhaps landing a job with an i-bank or a vc/pe firm afterwards off the floor. don't get me wrong- i have no problem working for the smithsonian and possibly opening more doors to my future. i have a formal interview with them this afternoon at 1600 in fact. however, the stark contrast in what i thought i was getting into when i started school and what i'm getting now towards the end of the first year couldn't be more different. 

at this point i have almost entirely committed myself to going to oxford for the summer. i say almost entirely because, well, let's face it- i don't have the extra 13 grand or so it's going to cost me laying around my tiny apartment. not even close. with the current loan market being overextended, i don't expect (and in fact have already been turned down) for private loans to cover the costs. (those costs being the tuition for oxford, the rent on my apartment in dc for june-august, the flight over to the uk, etc...) so- the first thought i had with the smithsonian idea was that i might work my tail off (like i usually do i suppose) and make as much money as i could for the project. but then, that fell through with the "unpaid" part. 

so i guess it's back to figuring out what else i can do this summer to make money. i could go back to bartending or bouncing, but really- i went to grad school for that? at this point, i'll take a wal-mart greeters job, so i suppose bouncing/bartending isn't much worse than that. and, i have no issue with that type of work. it's not that i feel that i'm above it in any way shape or form- it's how i got through undergrad, right? but still- a part of me thinks it's a giant step backwards for me. and we all know how large my steps are, right? ha ha- at least i can still find humor in all of this. i suppose that's one good thing to be happy about.

in any event- i'll be leaving my residency a tad early today in an attempt to convince the smithsonian institute that i can perform financial modeling tasks and work independently to produce a project which will be presented to some influential people. and, come to think of it, this opportunity never would have happened without me coming here in the first place. huh- funny how that works. 

wish me luck!

missed it

so, after reading some of the speeches given over the weekend at the cpac conference, i am fairly disappointed i missed it. granted, i had more important things to attend to- but at the same time, i really wonder what it would have been like to get in a large space with people who share some of the same thoughts and ideas i have about the future of this great country. i am planning on attending next year for sure, but need to figure out when i am supposed to be in dubai (i think that's where i'm going to go next year for my residency. not sure yet. maybe south america if it's on the list). 

so, does anyone else find it hilarious that since hussein took office the stock market has had the bottom drop out from under it? honestly, i couldn't help but chuckle when the mainstream decided they'd start blaming this on bush- as anyone who knows me, knows- i called this back in october. i said no matter what happened in the first few months of his excellency's reign, if it was bad news at all- it was bush's fault. sigh- the predictability of these raving lunatics is sheer madness. not that i'm claiming to know what to do about all this. my solutions so far have been to let gm, ford, bofa, etc. fail if that's what it takes. let the regulation cease and please stop throwing more money down the drain. 

on a side note- i had a heated discussion this morning in saxby's about the causes of the financial dilemma. i still trace most of this back to greenspan's relentless policy of cheap money. however- i also believe the sheer lunacy of the creation of freddie mac and fannie mae contributed in ways we still don't understand. (consequently, the second largest recipient of kickbacks (oops- that slipped out- i meant "contributions") from these two organizations was our dear leader. interesting- right?).  but, back to my original assertion- with greenspan keeping interest rates for so long, and the availability of large sums of money to people who had no business receiving them- is it any wonder we still haven't found bottom on this yet? let it never be said that people won't take "free" things. ever been to whole foods or sam's club during sample day? people eat the grossest stuff because it's free- and then pay the consequences later. well, people "ate" the worst thing possible, thinking there would be no repercussions. as i've alluded to before, the sheer ignorance of the people taking this money, and the greediness of those pushing it, had to eventually tip this ship over. it has. and badly. i think the most recent statistic is that the dow is at the lowest point since 1997. so, in other words, we're lower than we were during the stock market explosion due to the dot-com era. interesting. wait- what was so special about the dot-com era again? people had "free money" in that there were secretaries walking around worth millions of "dollars" due to the stock they were receiving in fledgling companies or the explosion in prices of their own stock. (i'm sort of rambling here- but stay with me). so in other words, what we're seeing now is nothing new. i tend to think this is just a final reaction to the largesse of the last decade, where "millionaires" were being created left and right. maybe the system couldn't handle it anymore. in any event- by my recent back of the envelope calculations- any "wealth" created due to the increase in stocks alone has been absolutely destroyed in the last 2 years or so. now, it appears this wealth was a temporary thing. 

so, what can we do about all this?  i'm not entirely sure. nationalization seems to be the sexy answer in the media these days. do these people know what they're suggesting? i think it's worthwhile to take a look at this.

now, can the u.s. pull this off? well- i honestly believe we can pull through the crisis. but, nationalization seems like such a long shot. honestly, sweden and the u.s. aren't exactly on par with each other in terms of sheer economic strength. 

okay- you know what? i've been going on and on today. i think i need to save room for more at a later time. we'll see when that may be. i am in the middle of trying to value an energy acquisition. yipee!