Last Call

We will always have the businesses that drain its employees dry.  We will always have the Scrooge wannabe who leaves people to endure deplorable conditions to maximize their already generous profit.  We will always have people who cling to failed methods and refuse to try new approaches.


But now we will also have something different.  I'm pointing this particular article because I have found something rare in the business world: principles.  And not the fluffy kind, the real ones that matter and make you feel good about what you do, and how you do it.  What's amazing is a little investment in employees can return magnificent results.  Coupled with responsible and straightforward practices, you can establish a sustainable business plan.  A good business knows how to treat its employees and customers with dignity.


CNN Money recently ran this article.  I am going to include a teaser here, but I recommend taking a moment to read it.  It's a solid, reasonable look at women's future in business and how we can empower women and reap the rewards of doing so.

Reykjavik, Iceland (CNN) -- You might wonder why two women decided to leave successful careers and start a financial services company emphasizing feminine values.

To put it briefly, we were somewhat overwhelmed by the testosterone levels in business and finance, and we lost faith in the sustainability of operating this way.

This was not about women vs. men, but rather about the lack of diversity in the field, which led to serious following-the-herd behavior and poor quality decision-making. We started to worry about what this behavior could produce and felt that a more balanced and sensible approach was needed.

You can't argue with success.  It is logical and noble to "start doing business that is good, in all senses of the word."  But above all, while we rebuild our businesses and restructure our business practices, that we keep our previous mistakes in mind.  Let's move forward instead of going in circles.

StupidiNews! Just Freaking Awesome Edition

The article is awesome, but it's all about the picture.  Here's a shot of a sword that belonged to the infamous Edward Teach.  That's Blackbeard to most folks.  Tag: General


A grey squirrel gets the best of a squirrel-proof setup.  Sometimes these things are good for the soul, and I love squirrels.  Tag: Epic Win


Bad news for smokers:

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Those first few puffs on a cigarette can within minutes cause genetic damage linked to cancer, US scientists said in a study released.

In fact, it's more like 15-30 minutes.  I'm actually going to delve into the subject of smoking over the next few weeks, so have your comments ready! From sin taxes to workplace nicotine drug testing, I have a few articles planned.  Tag: Legal Stupidity - not just for lawyers anymore.

The Worst Thing I've Heard All Year: Part III

I'm sad to say I really didn't expect this to progress so rapidly.  I may as well change it to the worst thing I've heard all week.  With much sighing and sadness, on to the worst thing I've heard all year... so far.

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – After witnessing a Facebook video of two 9-year-olds fighting, an out-of-state caller reported to police that the video looked like it was filmed in McMinnville.

The article goes on to explain that the kids weren't only encouraged to assault each other, they were starved and kept in pitiful conditions.  They were both removed from their homes.  The four adults were confirmed to be the ones on the video, and are being charged with criminal mistreatment, assault, reckless endangering, endangering the welfare of a minor, strangulation, coercion and menacing. 


Because, really, life doesn't suck enough without these fertile but otherwise useless people contributing.  

Update: Giffords Breathing Tube Removed

The breathing tube in U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' throat was removed and replaced with a tracheotomy tube in her windpipe, a procedure that potentially offers doctors a chance to evaluate whether she can speak.

At this time, there is no indication of whether she can speak, but she has aced every test so far.  She continues to track with her eyes and show understanding when communicated with.  The brain is still a mystery, but here's hoping the good news continues to roll.

This Just In... Corn "Big Deal" In Iowa

Cows eat grass. You wouldn’t think it’s a big deal to state this, but at Iowa State University a highly qualified job applicant who had the temerity to voice this simple biological fact was ejected from consideration for a post leading a sustainable agriculture program.

What, one has to wonder, could possible be wrong with that?  Well, in Iowa, corn is a pretty big deal.   The quote that got Ricardo Salvador in trouble was so offensive that he didn't get the job, even after the number one choice passed on the offer.  He had the worst moment ever in a job interview, where the resounding silence lets you know that you just blew it.  I won't hold you in suspense any longer:

Corn allows cows to get fatter faster and be ready for slaughter sooner. But there are downsides, including the fact that cows have trouble digesting corn and must be fed antibiotics to prevent them from becoming ill. What’s more, the beef from corn-fed cows tends to have more fat.  

The remark that may have sunk Mr. Salvador’s candidacy came 37 minutes into his on-campus presentation. While discussing a research project in New York State, he mentioned meat being “produced in the natural way that meat should be produced, which is on land suitable for grasses and perennial crops.”

Salvadore made reference to grassland as being natural for raising meat, the rat bastard.   There may be some of you who are more, ahem, civilized in your upbringing that aren't sure where the joke is.  Allow me to introduce to you the mighty cow, provider of milk, steak, methane gas, and also known in the hillbilly states as "God's Lawnmower."  A little double checking seems to confirm Mr. Salvador's comments as being 100% correct.

Weigh this against Zandar's earlier post and you have a genuine conundrum.

Corn Con Carnage

This post at Zero Hedge is making the rounds this weekend, and it's a bit of an eye opener.  Ethanol blended gas is big here in the Midwest, but I was unaware that some 40% of America's corn crop went into making ethanol.  With corn supplies being fed to ethanol plants instead of people, corn prices are rising, ethanol prices are rising, and gas prices are rising, and that's affecting everything we buy.

Corn is the most widely produced feed grain in the United States, accounting for more than 90% of total U.S. feed grain production. 81.4 million acres of land are utilized to grow corn, with the majority of the crop grown in the Midwest.  Although most of the crop is used to feed livestock, corn is also processed into food and industrial products including starch, sweeteners, corn oil, beverage and industrial alcohol, yogurt, latex paint, cosmetics, and last but not least, fuel Ethanol. Of the 10,000 items in your average grocery store, at least 2,500 items use corn in some form during the production or processing. The United States is the major player in the world corn market providing more than 50% of the world’s corn supply. In excess of 20% of our corn crop had been exported to other countries, but the government ethanol mandates have reduced the amount that is available to export.

And with world corn and grain prices up because our exports are down, we're seeing food shortages and price spikes in countries that are net importers of foodstuffs...countries like Algeria and Tunisia.

It's all connected, folks.

The United States is the big daddy of the world food economy. It is far and away the world’s leading grain exporter, exporting more than Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Russia combined. In a globalized food economy, increased demand for corn, to fuel American vehicles, puts tremendous pressure on world food supplies. Continuing to divert more food to fuel, as is now mandated by the U.S. federal government in its Renewable Fuel Standard, will lead to higher food prices, rising hunger among the world’s poor and to social chaos across the globe. By subsidizing the production of ethanol, now to the tune of $6 billion each year, U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing skyrocketing food bills at home and around the world.

I'm all for renewable fuels, but I think it's high time we took a second look at our current ethanol policy.

No Excuse For This

In a bizarre and sad story, one of the victims of the Tuscon shooting has been committed for making a threat against the Arizona Tea Party official who blamed Rep. Giffords herself for the shooting for her lack of armed security.

James Eric Fuller, 63, was involuntarily committed after he made threats against a Tea Party member at the event sponsored by ABC News, Ogan said.

Fuller photographed Trent Humphries and said "You are dead" when Humphries began speaking at the event, according to Ogan.

He was taken into custody after 12 p.m. (2 p.m. ET).

Fuiller has not been charged and Ogan said it is unclear whether Humphries will press charges.

The town hall event was held at Tucson's St. Odilia Church and was taped for Christiane Amanpour's "This Week" program on ABC.

Fuller was the Tuscon shooting victim who blamed Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Sharron Angle for the shooting, but in this environment making the threat against Humphries like that in a public place is not only inexcusable, but pretty sad to boot.

It's clear this guy has some serious PTSD issues, and let's remember this guy was shot by Loughner.  I hope he gets the help he needs and I'm glad he didn't hurt anyone, especially himself.

A Five-Star Effort

The push is on among Washington's war hawks to give Gen. Petraeus a fifth star on his epaulets, the first time that would be done since Gen. Omar Bradley in 1950.

"The U.S. war against terrorism is now the longest war in U.S. history, and Gen. Petraeus has clearly distinguished himself as a leader worthy of the rank held by Gens. MacArthur, Marshall and Nimitz," Pete Hegseth and Wade Zirkle, of the group Vets for Freedom, wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

Hegseth served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division and is bound for Afghanistan. Zirkle, a Marine, deployed twice to Iraq.

They make the case that Petraeus deserves the higher rank and that others will benefit if he gets it.
"A promotion would properly honor his service -- and it would also honor the troops he leads and has led," they write. "Today's soldiers have fought as valiantly as any in American history, and they deserve recognition of their leaders. Congressional approval of a fifth star would demonstrate the nation's commitment to their mission."

Hegseth aid Thursday that the response to their suggestion has been overwhelmingly positive. He laughed off a question about whether he had heard from Petraeus himself, saying he didn't expect to.

"We're just hoping to gain some traction," Hegseth said. He said congressmen already have volunteered to push the promotion forward, although he said he could not provide names.

A spokesman for Petraeus would not discuss the idea with CNN.

I'm kind of torn over this.  On one hand, Hegseth is right:  this is the longest war America has ever fought and Petraeus has served his country ably.  On the other hand...this is the longest war America has ever fought, and it needs to end.  I don't see how a fifth star for Petraeus is going to help bring our troops home.

We're going on ten years in Afghanistan this November.  An entire decade spent at war, halfway around the globe, with no clear winnable objective and no real hope of it ending, other than nebulous promises of coming home in 2014 that may or may not be kept or may be abandoned completely should a Republican end up in the White House in 2012.

Enough blood and treasure has been expended on Afghanistan.  It's time to bring everyone home.  We have enough problems here, for God's sakes.

Price Of Admission

Ramesh Pannuru's op-ed in the NY Times is quite odd:  if anything it's a tacit admission that Republicans aren't going to every try to govern because they can't.  The party of "personal responsibility" shouldn't even try to mess with Social Security or Medicare, because they'll only pay for it in 2012.  Why not just do nothing and blame Obama instead?  This isnt hyperbole, folks...this is his actual admonition to Republicans in the column.

Reforming these programs is vital to our nation’s long-term fiscal health — which is why Republicans should resist this advice and leave the issue alone. Reform is impossible this year or next unless President Obama takes the lead on it. What’s more, Republicans have no mandate for reform, and a failed attempt will only set back the cause. 

Wait a minute.  I thought the story of the entire 2010 election was "the Tea Party has a mandate for change and reform now!"  That's certainly what candidate after candidate promised on the campaign trail.  Gosh, you mean it was all a cynical ploy to gain power just to lock up the machinery of government and blame the Democrats in order to win in 2012?

Steve M. calls him out cold.

In other words: Yeah, we said over and over and over again in the last two years that we're going to be the bestest fiscal stewards in this country ever, the hawkiest of deficit hawks; we're going to take on the tough challenges, and we hate big government ... but, er, um, if we actually do try to alter entitlement programs in a way that follows logically from our own incessant rhetoric, well, voters will be mean to us! And for us, that will really, really suck!

Unless, as Ponnuru says, President Obama sticks his neck out first -- and if he doesn't, well, then inaction is all his fault. Republicans are completely, totally blameless!

Wow.  Ponnuru is basically copping to the entire GOP Plan:  do nothing, watch the country burn, blame Obama.  He continues:

They should begin by freezing or cutting government payrolls, including in the legislative branch — something Republicans have already started doing. Message: the federal government is not just imposing sacrifices but sharing them. Then they should get control of the discretionary, or non-entitlement, portions of the budget, which are small only in comparison with entitlements. Only after winning those fights, and probably electing a new president, should the old-age entitlements be up for reform. 

And after completely admitting the Secret GOP Plan for 2011, he completely gives the plan away for 2012 and 2013 too:  dupe the American public into voting in a Republican President so they can completely gut Social Security and Medicare.  Vote Republican, we're going to screw everybody under 55!

Dude's freely admitting this in the NY Times editorial section.

Hey Democrats, are you paying attention here?  You might want to point out this column on Sunday, just saying.

The Cost Of Rounding Them Up

Good thing we elected fiscal conservatives here in the Bluegrass State, huh?

The state Senate Republicans' immigration bill would cost Kentucky a net $40 million a year in court, prison and foster-care costs, according to a fiscal-impact statement issued Thursday by legislative staff.

Senate Bill 6 would make it a state crime for an illegal immigrant to set foot in Kentucky, and it would authorize police to approach people and ask about their immigration status. The Senate voted 24-14 last week to pass the bill without knowing its cost.

I've talked about Senate Bill 6 before, it's flatly unconstitutional and would force Kentucky law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of anyone they encounter while on duty.   It not only contains all the blatantly illegal parts of Arizona's bill (the parts that were promptly struck down) but several new, even worse provisions...all for dealing with an estimated one percent of the population.

"It does look like serious money," Sen. John Schickel, the bill's sponsor, said Thursday.

"But these are estimates, and quite frankly, I don't agree with these estimates," said Schickel, R-Union. "For one thing, this assumes that law enforcement is going to enforce it to the maximum everywhere, and the bill leaves it open to each jurisdiction's individual discretion."

Also, Schickel said, as Kentucky gets a reputation for being less friendly to illegal immigrants, fewer of them will come here, and the full costs of the bill won't need to be repeated every year.

The bill is now in the hands of the House, where Democratic majority leaders have expressed skepticism about its future. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, declined to comment Thursday.

Got news for you guys, it's not just fewer undocumented people who will come here, but Latino-American citizens, businesses, corporations, events, and conventions as well.  Again, $40 million a year to deal with 40,000 people seems kind of a bad deal for taxpayers (on top of the whole unconstitutional thing).

And that's far from the only economic impact:

If all illegal immigrants were removed, the state would lose $1.7 billion in economic activity, $756.8 million in gross state product and 12,059 jobs, according to the non-profit Immigration Policy Center. In a statement accompanying its report, the center opposed SB6 and an earlier, similar Arizona measure now tied up in the federal appellate courts.

"As Kentucky faces a $780 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2011, state legislators are currently pursuing a costly and short-sighted 'papers please' law," the center said in its statement. "Senate Bill 6 is a copycat of Arizona's SB1070. ... Kentucky should consider the following evidence before continuing to pursue this kind of immigration legislation." 

While we're at it, the state should stop giving away tens of millions in tax breaks to creationist theme parks, too.   We can't afford either right now...certainly not tens of millions for institutionalized bigotry.

Tolerance

Michelle Obama wrote a touching letter in which she asks that parents teach their children tolerance.

"We can teach them the value of tolerance - the practice of assuming the best, rather than the worst, about those around us. We can teach them to give others the benefit of the doubt, particularly those with whom they disagree. "

It's time that we stop discriminating against the LGBT community.  We are all protected by the same Constitution, and we are all (supposed to be) equal in the eyes of the law.  This minority has seen discrimination and hate crimes galore, and our leaders can't say much when they have voted to restrict their ability to serve in the military, to be recognized legally as a couple, and to be the people they want to be.  They are often treated as partial citizens, not receiving recognition and in some cases, under attack by legislation.

I am not saying Michelle Obama was wrong.  She is absolutely correct.  Let's start teaching our kids about tolerance, and acceptable ways to be heard.  It is human nature to claw at another group of people when times are tough.  I hope we continue to see tolerance grow, and applied in the one direction it does not seem to be spreading, towards our LGBT community.

StupidiNews! The Good, The Bad, The Stupid

The Good:

The youngest victim of the recent Arizona shooting, Christina Green, donated her organs in a final act of generosity.  Her father announced that a  child in Boston has already been saved due to this heroic deed.  Green's story is touching, but not only did a good thing come of this sadness, it calls attention to a very important decision we can make that will save lives. It's important to acknowledge the good, even if it comes so quickly after a tragic note.

The Bad:

A man in Novi, Michigan has killed his wife and two sons, and then himself.  I honestly don't intend to bring these up every time (in fact, for each time I mention something like this, I pass on several).  But I cannot ignore the scream of people reaching the breaking point.  This is why I say we have a social obligation to help our friends and neighbors to the best of our ability.  Right now, the details aren't known about why Mark Schons did this, but more and more people are drowning in stress and doing things that they would normally have never dreamed of.  Be good to the people around you.  You may never know how much your kindness means.

The Stupid:

A Colorado woman's 13-month-old son drowned while she played games on Facebook.  She claimed she left him alone because he was independent and she didn't want him to become a "momma's boy."  The mother's response was to say this was "so stupid."  These mistakes are actually more common than we may think, anyone who has raised kids has, intentionally or not, set them up for a roll of the dice.  These sad stories serve as wake-up calls to the rest of us.  Just a few minutes or a single choice can change the rest of your life.  Don't ever forget it.

Orange Julius With Some Sour Grapes

House Speaker John Boehner really seems to enjoy telling the President to go jump in a lake as of late.

This week, House Speaker John Boehner raised eyebrows by turning down an offer to ride on Air Force One with President Obama and others headed to a memorial service in Tucson. Instead, he appeared at a reception for Republican operative Maria Cino. Now, on the heels of renewed calls for bipartisanship and toned-down political rhetoric, Boehner is saying “thanks, but no thanks” to another offer to appear at an event with the president – Wednesday’s White House state dinner.


The dinner, honoring the Chinese President Hu Jintao, will pull together leaders on both sides of the aisle, along with celebs, CEOs, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and media bigwigs.


A Boehner aide confirmed that the House speaker was invited to the dinner but will not be attending. Boehner also turned down invitations to the previous two state dinners held during Obama’s presidency, one honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2009, and the most recent state dinner honoring Mexican President Felipe Calderon in May 2010, the aide said.

So it's not like Obama wasn't reaching out to the Republican leadership before Boehner was speaker, either.  He's gotten three White House state dinner invites with three major trading and security partners now and all three times he's preferred to go cook S'mores and read comic books up in his private treehouse with the "No Democrats Allowed" sign on it or whatever.

It's almost like Boehner isn't interested in making nice with Democrats and working with the President as Speaker.

Imagine that.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Flooding in Brazil has claimed 500 lives and more rain is on the way.
• Bank of America's online banking website was down for hours Friday after a possible attack from Operation Anonymous hackers.
• The Obama administration says it will ease travel restrictions to Cuba for church, school, and cultural groups.
• Demand for copper may outpace supply by up to 600,000 metric tons this year, driving prices of the metal to new record highs.
• LG's marketing director says he's very disappointed in the launch sales of the Windows 7 Phone but he's "keeping the faith."

Last Call

I would have to submit that Vince McCrudden is probably not the guy I would trust to have the judgment necessary for running my hedge fund.

Vincent McCrudden, a mad-as-hell hedge fund manager from Long Island, was arrested last night for threatening to kill 47 officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

McCrudden runs a very small hedge fund called Alnbri Management, based in Melville, N.Y. He's got something of a beef with the federal government, it would seem: He filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the SEC and other regulatory agencies last year—yeah, that's $1 billion—claiming harassment. And then last month, according to government prosecutors, he started sending violent and threatening e-mails to a host of SEC, Finra, and CFTC officials with messages like, "You f****g corrupt piece of s**t! [Y]ou my friend are not getting away with this."

Can't manage your anger, can't manage a fund, ya see.   Also...bad timing on the whole "threatening government officials" thing, Vince.

Meanwhile, looks like I get to retire my Michael Steele tag for a bit.

Michael Steele just dropped out of his race for a second term as RNC chairman and threw his support to Maria Cino, who came in second place after the fourth ballot here at the GOP's winter meeting in National Harbor, MD.

"I will step aside because I think the party is ready for something different," Steele said.

I gotta say, I'm going to miss the guy.  He was comedy gold.

To a standing ovation of RNC members, Steele mournfully told the crowd, "and now I exit stage right." 

He ended his term as RNC chair as he began it:



As a cartoon character.

On the other hand, I get to break in a new tag for his replacement.

On the seventh round of balloting, the Republican National Committee elected Reince Priebus to be its next chairman.

Reince Priebus, huh.




New Tag:  Drive The All-New Reince Priebus!