What happens when you make brash generalizations? You make yourself look like a fool. What happens when you make generalized assumptions about an entire group of people? You betray your own prejudices.

That’s what I believe has happened – among other things – with the vilification of generalized, anonymous, faceless A.I.G. “Executives”. Certain members of Congress, along with the Attorneys General of various states, would have us believe that every executive who ever worked at A.I.G. is directly responsible for all the credit default swaps that landed them and the American economy in such turmoil. Furthermore, not only is it every executive’s fault – regardless of whether they were even in the same departments that handled those credit default swaps or not – all of those executives are also totally heartless, greedy, disgusting bastards who deserve to die for so blatantly disrespecting and victimizing the tax-payers by doing something so wrong, so dastardly, so disgusting as… receiving payment for their hard work, as dictated by contracts signed by those in charge, both at A.I.G. and in the Federal government. If we believe what we’re being told by the likes of Barney Frank, *every* executive is a criminal who deserves to be “named and shamed”, who deserves no sympathy for the death threats they and their families are being subjected to, and who ultimately deserves the first ever retroactive, personally targeted, over-the-top, 90% taxation that was just enacted by Congress, despite the fact such taxation legislation so blatantly violates the Constitution (another contract that no one seems to hold must esteem for these days.)

This is another rash generalization. Not only does it make those who make such generalizations look like fools, and not only does it betray their prejudices, but good people who have done absolutely nothing wrong are being hurt in the process.
Oh, and we, the American people, are also being hopelessly distracted from much more important and pressing issues.

This point is beautifully illustrated by none other than one of those awful executives from A.I.G, Mr. Jake DeSantis. He’s taking an awful risk revealing his name, but I believe that what he has to say is important. After all, didn’t our parents teach us to walk a mile in another man’s shoes before we criticize them? And no, not just so that when we do criticize them we’re a mile away and we have their shoes. No, no, the point is, we need to look at both sides before grabbing our pitchforks and running people out of town who may be completely and utterly innocent. Mob rule isn’t the answer here; reason is.
So for the sake of reason, I beg you to take a look at the letter of resignation which Mr. Jake DeSantis sent to Edward M. Liddy, the Chief Executive of A.I.G. It explains a few things from the point of view of the executives that we’re all being riled up to hate.

Click here to check it out.

Before any of us say another word about these executives, I wish we’d all calm down for a minute and think about a few things. First, contracts should be sacred and the government has no right to interfere with them, especially with regard to contracts that they themselves agreed to.

Secondly, before we let mob rule trump our reason, perhaps we should ask ourselves, who is it that’s trying to get us to behave like a bunch of vicious, thoughtless, violent rioters in the first place? Perhaps then we might have a better idea about what really went on here, and who’s really to blame. Not some faceless, nameless, villain of an executive, but some politicians who didn’t even bother to read the biggest, most expensive bill in the history of our country before they voted for it. They’re the ones who signed a contract before reading the fine print (hell, they didn’t even let us read it!) If that happened to us, the little people, we’d be the ones to blame. We’d be the ones with our credit ruined and our possessions being taken away. Yet Congress is trying to shift the blame and attention onto others, hoping they’ll get away with something tremendously stupid – which, by the way, we’re currently paying the price for. Congress entered into this contract, a contract which simply stated that executives – like any other employee of a company – should be compensated for their work. Whether the Congressmen and Senators now feel that compensation was too high, it’s too bad, so sad. It’s their fault for not reading the fine print. So hold them responsible, not the people who simply got paid for doing their job. If that contract can’t stand, if the government can interfere in that contract, then who’s to say they can’t interfere in one of yours? Who’s to say you won’t be the next villain to distract the people of America from yet another of Congress’ sins? Walk a mile in the shoes of those executives before being so quick to judgment, then maybe you’ll understand why this entire situation is so entirely wrong.

For those of you out there who still may not understand the process by which the markets became involved in all these sub-prime mortgages, which became the catalyst for at least one aspect of the global financial crisis – or if you have friends who might still need a little help understanding it – I’ve found this remarkable video that does a pretty good job of just explaining the market side of the issue. (It certainly taught me a thing or two about the details.) It’s not so much about the political policies that led to this behavior, but simply how the market reacted to changes in policies. And hey, the video’s also just plain pretty to look at, so enjoy!

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

You really have to read this if you haven’t already – apparently a letter has been circulating around EmailLand lately, and it only just now made its way to my inbox. It’s a response to a pitiful plea for bailout support that was sent out by Troy Clarke, President of General Motors. When one average, hard-working American – Gregory Knox, President of Knox Manufacturing – received this missive in his email inbox, he decided to let loose and give Mr. Clarke a piece of his mind. That piece turned out to be quite honest, truthful, and not only thankfully sane, but refreshingly American. I’ve checked it out on Snopes, and sure enough, it’s for real. So I’m sharing it here, to hopefully add to the throngs of average Americans who are shouting the same sentiments right back at Mr. Clarke and the rest of Congress. Maybe they won’t listen to us, but they should at least be well aware that if they continue down the path of the bailout, they sure as hell won’t be receiving any of our money or our votes.

Dear Employee,

Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation’s history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing progress we began prior to the global financial crisis. As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.
Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

- Troy Clarke
General Motors North America

Dear General Motors,

In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this on to Troy Clarke, the president of General Motors North America, for me.

You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new “messiah” to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep “living the dream.”

The dream is over!

The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the world’s most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement-minded “laborers” without paying the price for these atrocities, and that still the masses will line up to buy our products.

Don’t tell me I’m wrong. Don’t accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called upon Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle, and countless other automotive OEM’s and Tier ones for three decades now throughout the Midwest and what I’ve seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Mr. Clark, the president of General Motors states:
“There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not.”

You’re right, it’s not JUST management; how about the electrcians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass, so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they could easily have done within their normal 40 hour week.

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kind of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive (mustn’t expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) So you really not know about this stuff?!?

How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke’s sad plea:
“over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors…”

What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K car vs. the Accord?

The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on?

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.

Time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of “bailout money.” Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clarke would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day and something else would happen where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work if we let it work.

But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn’t work, that we need government to step in and “save us”. Save us, hell! We’re nationalizing and unfortunately too many of this once fine nation’s citizens don’t even have a clue that this is what’s really happening, but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams! Yeah, THAT’S important!

Does it occur to ANYONE that the “competition” has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?

How can that be???

Let’s see:

Fuel efficient…

Listening to customers…

Investing in the proper tooling and automations for the long haul…

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming four decades ago…

Ever increased productivity through quality, lean, and six sigma plans…

Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like “the enemy”…

Efficient front and back offices…

Non-union environment!

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn’t be telling anyone anything they really don’t already know in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into. My children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way), I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.

Radical concept, huh?

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course, but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don’t want to over-simplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government.

Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people, it’s coming whether we like it or not.

The newly elected Messiah really doesn’t have a magic wand big enough to “make it all go away”. I laughed as I heard Obama “reeling it back in” almost immediately after the vote count was tallied. We might not do it in a year or in four. Where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office?

Stop trying to put off the inevitable.

That house in Florida really isn’t worth $750,000.

People who jump across a border really don’t deserve free health care benefits.

That job driving that forklift for the Big Three really isn’t worth $85,000 a year.

We really shouldn’t allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe.

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn’t be living in that $485,000 home!

Let the market correct itself, people. It will. Yes, it will be painful, but it’s gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what it has and doesn’t live beyond its means. Gets back to basics and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world. And probably turns back to God.

Sorry, don’t cut my head off, I’m just the messenger sharing with you the “bad news.”

- Gregory J. Knox
President
Knox Machinery, Inc
Franklin, Ohio 45005

Well said, Mr. Knox! I certainly wish there were more politicians like him around, and hell, for that matter, simply more Americans like him. Then maybe we might actually be a little closer to solving this mess the right way, rather than digging ourselves even deeper into this hole of debt we already find ourselves in. Continually bailing out companies and individuals who repeatedly engage in unsound financial practices is like shooting yourself in the right foot after already shooting yourself in the left one. Fairly soon you won’t even have a foot to stand on, and it’ll be your own damn fault.
Wake up, people. Times are going to be hard enough anyway, let’s not make them any harder by completely decapitating the free market system that made us the greatest, most successful, most independent country in the world. Name me just one socialist nation that can even hold a candle to what we’ve accomplished, then I might actually think that bailing out any companies at all might be a good idea. But guess what? You can’t even name one. So let’s just drop all this nationalizing crap once and for all, okay?

Every time I hear Barack Obama opine on the woes of the middle class, I want to tear my hair out. The more he goes on and on about Bush supposedly decimating the middle class, the more I want to scream. Why? Because everything he says about the middle class is just flat out untrue. Taxes for the middle class have decreased significantly since Bush took office. If you look at the taxes from Clinton to Bush, there was a significant drop in the taxes paid by the middle class. Significant! And don’t even get me started on Obama’s promise to not raise anyone’s taxes. Obama has already guaranteed that he will let those significant Bush tax cuts expire. Those are the taxes that have significantly lowered everyone’s taxes, most especially the middle class. By letting those taxes expire, Obama will be raising your taxes! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as Obama’s tax policy is concerned.
But beyond even taxes, Obama doesn’t even have any other numbers to support his doom and gloom claims for the middle class either. Even in spite of the major economic crisis we’re facing at the moment, we have not yet been in a recession, despite the Democrats cries to the contrary. The definition of a recession is two straight quarters of negative growth. Yet we haven’t even endured a single quarter of negative growth. Of course, this might change considering the housing crisis, but that’s the future, and Obama’s referring to the past.
Want some straight figures affecting the middle class? Median wages have risen 28 percent from 1975 to 2005. Inflation-adjusted median household incomes for most household types increased by roughly 44 to 62 percent from 1976 to 2006! That’s HUGE!
So where is this supposed Bush-caused crisis for the middle class over the past 8 years? The only crisis I’m seeing is the fair-housing Democrat-induced housing crisis, thanks to Clinton, the Democrats, and the expansion of the CRA during the 1990s, coupled with the Democratic-led committees that blocked every single Republican attempt to increase regulation to avoid this catastrophe.
Yet again, why is Obama getting away with this massive lie? Where’s the reason? Where are the facts?

Then I remember, oh yeah, it’s the media. I really have to stop being shocked by the media’s love affair with Obama and realize, they don’t give a flying monkey’s crap about truth or statistics or reason whenever it goes against their chosen leader’s rallying cries.
Therefore, it’s up to us to look at the data. That’s why I started this blog, after all. It’s up to us to talk amongst ourselves and figure this crap out. In that vein, I found a brilliant article from Reason Magazine about the truth of the middle class. Click on “More” to read it, it’s good stuff.

In doing my research, I started out in textbooks, encyclopedias, archives, et cetera; all those big brainy places. But along with that, I was also looking for summaries from average people, others who have sought to sum up the information found from the brainy sources. That’s what I want to accomplish, make that brainy information accessible to you, the average American. Not because I think I’m smarter than you or that you’re somehow stupid – not at all! I think you’re brilliant, I think you’re capable of making your own decisions based on the facts presented to you.
But I also think you’re busy. See, I’m bedridden right now because of this stupid disease I have. I have a huge amount of time on my hands, time that I can spend doing research. Since I have that time and the majority of Americans don’t, I decided to try to package up what I found and present it to you, so you can cast an educated vote in November. If you still disagree with me, that’s fine, but I sincerely hope that whichever way you vote, it’s a vote based on fact, not rhetoric.

In that spirit, I’m happy to present to you “Hope is Not a Strategy”, a fantastic series of four videos from an average American just like you. This time it’s all about our economy, big oil, fuel prices, energy innovation, and how all of this relates to you. It provides its sources, it presents fact-based information in an accessible way, and it allows you to come up with your own conclusions based on facts rather than sound bytes. Oh, and it’s also pretty entertaining!
So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

I hope that helped to shed some light on these massive & important topics. As always, don’t take my word for it – look into anything that you have questions about! Dig a bit, do some searching, reach beyond rhetoric! Find out for yourself!

For quite a while now I’ve been compiling interesting videos on YouTube, separating them into separate playlists dedicated to various categories relevant to the campaign. I’ll be posting these playlists to the video directory of this site soon, but I thought I’d give you a sneak peek now by offering you a new playlist – a selection of the best of the best! For the discerning voter, I’ve pulled together the videos I think are most important into one easy-to-watch must see list. Watch these and you’ll be well on your way to understanding several major issues of Obama’s campaign.
As always, don’t believe me flat out, but here’s some food for thought and fuel to get your research started!

The NObama YouTube Must See Videos

For a complete listing of the videos and what they mean, click “more”!