TAX HAVENS, EXXON MOBILE AND ME

I wrote a comment on Mother Jones' story about Exxon Mobile either not paying any taxes at all to the IRS or that they only paid a fraction of what they should owing to the tax havens and loopholes. Exxon jumped all over this, not liking negative publicity and assuring the world that they pay taxes to the IRS. The article shows that even if they paid what they said, it is a piddling amount if they did not have the shelters and "creativity".

I suggested that the potholes on my streets would be fixed if the IRS had an alternate tax and all of the international companies had to pay the largest of the current tax system or an alternate tax, a flat rate for sales made in the U.S.

I further suggested that it would pass the House and die in the senate. We would woo the ladies in Maine because they would seem "reasonable" at first, but in the end, they would vote party line. I'm sure that Exxon has a few Dems in their pockets. Nevertheless, the IRS should take this step.

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John A. Paulson & King Richard 111

According to my recollection, John A. Paulson who made billions fixing the odds like a bookie paying off some players to shave points, gradated from my Alma Mater. During my time, the business school at New York University was called the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. I use to brag because I did the 4 year curriculum in 2 1/2 years while working for a commodities broker on Wall Street. The name changed to the Stearns School of Business, but they are one in the same, and a short walk to Washington Square where they made one of the all time great chess movies, "In search of Danny Fisher".

Paulson who made his investment bones working for Bear Stearns, went to, amongst others, the now indicted Goldman Sachs and paid them 25 very large to put together a folder of real adjustable mortgage losers that had decent Standard & Poors and Moody's ratings, but very likely to fail based on Paulson's analysis. Now, Goldman Sachs, hard pressed to turn down a Trojan Gift Horse, did just that. Then Paulson offered these to his clients and took a short position so he made billions (very very very large) when they failed.

It would be nice if he were indicted too, but he probably won't be. He covered his gilt edged ass in the prospectus' send to clients.

Now, why did I blog? I worked on Wall Street, graduated from the same school at N.Y.U. and I'm sitting here blogging instead of clipping coupons. Damn! Yet, I have some semblance of conscience; I think Paulson and King Richard III did not.

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I'M FRUGILE ABOUT GROWING GOOGLE

I read a super article on Mother Jones about Google wanting to show us how we use our power with a view to reducing costs and becoming more green. I am surely in favor of these two features, but with it was my utility company and not Google doing this for me. I have a feeling that I don't want Google any more in my life than it is already.

It just seems that Google is becoming almost as omnipresent in my life as was Starbucks in its heyday, I think that its power and size borders on hurting competition. For example, I use Firefox as my browser and they put only Google on their home page. Would be nice if they put the top 3. Yahoo and Bing are also good search engines.

As well, we think Google is giving us free things, but I believe we are paying for this. Just like in a Las Vegas Casino where you get free drinks when you are gambling, the drinks are not really free. You are paying for them within the odds set against you by the casino.

When you use a Google search engine to find a product, many firms have to bid for space and you end up paying more for the product as it cost the merchant more to present it to you. Same is true when you use "Rewards Credit Cards" thinking you're getting free rewards, but you are paying dearly for it every time you use the credit card because they charge merchants more when you buy with a rewards card.

So, I do like Google, but without the voracious appetite for expansion.

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JIM CROW LIVES IN MISSISSIPPI

A school girl wanted to attend the Prom with a girlfriend. Seen as a Lesbian situation, she was barred. This is in Mississippi, the bastion of tolerance, of understanding, and intelligence. In the infinite wisdom of the parents, the students, the board and administrators, they decided not to have a Prom rather than let this delightful girl attend with her friend in what ever capacity that friend is.

Then the ACLU got involved and the school secretly made two Proms. a real one that the students could attend and a second one that the Lesbian and a few handicapped students were invited to while thinking they were going to the real thing. Thus, this genius solution served to segregate the Lesbian couple and the handicapped from tainting the rest of the Prom attendees.

I don't know why it takes an ACLU to get involved. Here is a civil rights violation that the Federal Government should be climbing all over and it is definitely a hate crime as well. Where is the DOJ because I remember Holder's promise?

After an appropriate investigation, the parents should be fined and made to do enough community service work so that it will take them generations to forget this toxic event. The ring leader parents should be jailed. The entire school board, teachers and administrators that were involved and let this happen should also be fined, fired, and given years of community service with the ring leaders jailed. The students involved should have more than just a suspension but a notation on their permanent records and made to take classes in tolerance and complete the classes before their transcripts would be available to any higher level of education.

This episode stinks to high hell and reminds me of the damn Ku Klux Klan. It is the Jim Crow south at its worst. It is prejudice, intolerance, bigotry and discrimination coupled with an unbridled moronic ignorance.

I'd like to use the Jay Leno admonition and say Where Are The Parents? But, they were there, they were complicit, and there is no shame greater.

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Racism in America, Not All Negative

There is no question that the poison spewed from foul mouthed bigots have always been with us but the town hall meetings, the Republican's refusal to clamp down hard on their moron believers, and having a black President has brought the poison out in the open not increased its volume. The Democrats, who are so reluctant to show the rage appropriate to the symptoms share much blame and I am outraged that they are so lame. Lastly, the first amendment, that which media and most freedom loving people hold so dearly provides the legitimate forum for being disgustingly verbal.

New generations are more color blind but only if the parents and teachers are same. You cannot legislate how people feel and think, only what they do and with the first amendment, you can't legislate what they say. So you can't expect or fault that we are not color blind yet. Many black, Hispanic, Indians, and Asians are not color blind either. But we live together mostly in harmony. It does seem to improve each year. I don't think Dr. King would be disappointed, at least, in the ggregate. I think he would be happy but reserved.

We need a way to shut down the bigots to make them the outcasts. We need a solution to this and not another statement of the problem.

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ANNA PAQUIN CAME OUT AS A BISEXUAL

The beautiful actress Anna Paquin "came out" and it caused an Internet overload.

While there is true eroticism in a beautiful actress coming out bisexually and stirring the imagination of all those who mobbed the Internet, there is a infinitely higher cause.

When publicity like this offers some tick up in popularity, there is also a price and Anna knew she had to pay a personal price for being brave. She will be considered less than human by all the religious groups, by all Republican narrow minded right wing zealots, by the flock who dance to the tunes of their Sunday sermons, and possibly by producers who feel that there will be less viewers.

But Anna rose above the downside risks and I absolutely love her honesty and bravery.

Groups like the Human Rights Campaign work within the system. I give them a huge applause for keeping calm in the face of bigots and discriminators, idiot clergy and homophobic morons. If I were their leader, I'd lock and load. Of course, it is a euphemism, isn't it?

There is an old adage I learned at my Alma Mater, IBM, and it goes something like "You can't help what you think or feel, but you can help what you do or say." This would tell Anna to stay closeted. In this case I concur with the exception to the rule.

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HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES

There were articles today stating that with the signing of the health care bill, insurance companies do not have to accept sick children by just not letting them have insurance policies. IE: Denying Coverage.

I expect this from these vultures, nothing less but I never blame vultures. I blame all of the Republican congress and senate and some of the naysayer Democrats for not allowing a one payer system at best, and a public option at worst. These are the people who should have blood on their hands, should have misery on their hands and should be voted out of public office for life.

I hope every parent who has minor children become active to defeat every Republican candidate for office and all of the Democrats or Independents who voted against health care and tried to blackmail to get special favors.
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