Arkansas Blog

Clicky.

We spend so much time on sound bites and McCain and PalinComparison when the world is going to hell out there. No wonder these people think we are terrorists. Good ole Killing Christians, but do as I say and not as I do.

Also, glad to see AIG was able to take their top execs out to a posh resort and spend nearly a half million on them with R and R. Reminds me of the little vacation McCain had to have after the Forrestal fire.

Clicky here.

What else do they have? They got NOTHIN'.

Great link!

I don't know, but I hope it's true.

After watching McCain / Palin try (miserably) to make something of the Ayers "link" (Obama was 8 years old when Ayers was a Weatherman) compared to Sarah Palin's link (last year, and on YouTube) to her anti-Jew anti-witchcraft Assemblies of God tongue-speaking snake-charming minister, maybe they realize how stupid and hypocritical they look.

Also, y'know, it doesn't look real good when crowds at your rallies yell out "terrorist" and "kill him" and you grin and say nothing.

Obama is a "terrorist" and you should "kill him?"

Doggone it!

Really?

You think it's okay to remain silent?

Think it's okay to tacitly encourage assassination with silence and the phony cover of deniability?

Yes, you do. If you're John McCain or Sarah Palin.

Yes, you do if you're a Republican.

If in fact McCain / Palin are the "leaders" of the Republican party, they are herding a disturbingly large segment of otherwise intelligent but like-minded psychopathic American voters over the cliff, taking our country with them.

Have Republicans now suddenly realized how nakedly they've exposed their rotten souls in the past few days?

"Kill him!" "Terrorist!"

THAT'S okay?

Condoning the pre-election assassination of America's first viable black Presidential candidate because he's the superior man for the job over the second-rate carcinogenic dysfunctional rageful white guy they've nominated just before he's due to die?

Do the Republicans even comprehend how far they're cheerleading this literal racist lynching in 2008 America?

Yes. They just misread how much smarter America is now, compared to 8 years ago. And how ugly their minority "faith-based" racist, sexist, homophobic base really is.

Are they now attempting to pull back?

Yes. They're exposed, squirming and confused. Last century's smoke and mirrors are dead ash and shards. They've nowhere else to turn.

The majority of America is horrified and repelled at John McCain's smirking reaction to, "Kill him! [Obama]"

The majority of America is horrified and repelled at Sarah Palin's shallow stupidity and beauty-pageant arrogant presumption that God has annointed her to be President once McCain is "raptured."

Sure the Republicans are back-pedaling. They're caught.

Trapped, actually.

"That's not what we meant at all! You're taking it out of context!"

Bullshit.

Shouting, "Kill the terrorist," is perfectly clear. Both Republican candidates remained silent at their rallies. And, in McCain's case, smirked.

There's your context.

Like it or not, honey, they've created two Americas at war with each other.

That's the difference. One party offers to talk, to negotiate, to share facts, to interact as respectful adults between states and nations, to forge solutions to challenges.

The other offers to kill everybody who disagrees with them with ever-escalating cultural and global wars leading to worldwide military dominance and control of all natural resources.

Y'know. Like the Old Testament says.

Dominionism.

Corporatism!

Halliburton is thy name!

(Wink.) Y'betcha!

Seller creek, you're off the mark with AIG. And Waxman's stunt yesterday (linked at my name) really pisses me off. AIG is like a lot of troubled insurance companies. Their insurance unit was very stable and profitable (insurance rates of return are pretty low though), and it was the risky financial mumbo-jumbo that screwed them, not claims and day to day insurance stuff. AIG's insurance unit is a strong business. And it has to be, or their asses would have been out of business a long time ago. Look at the oversight and regulation in insurance; they're required to segregate premiums to pay claims and are rgularly examined by every state in which they're allowed to do business. Non-compliant companies are kicked out ofstates all the time. Insurance is the most heavily regulated business in America (it should be, too), and AIG's insurance unit had nothing wrong with it. Anyway, I digress...

It turns out the $400,000 "executive junket" Waxman is yelling about was for agents, not a trip just for the fat-cats (quoting the Guardian):

An AIG spokesman said the event was to entertain independent insurance salesmen of AIG American General - one of the company's main US operations which offers life, health and accident policies.
"It was a recognition event for independent agents of AIG American General who distribute insurance policies," said the spokesman. "It was planned months ago."

You know what? If they cancelled this trip it would REALLY piss off their best producers and they'd likely place less or no business with AIG next year. It would signal to the guys that keep AIG humming along that the company was out of business. Independent agents can place business anywhere. If AIG loses these guys (or even a chuck of their business) then all of a sudden the insurance side of AIG (which is all that kept the company from going under a while ago and is a well-structured unit) will suck too. Seems like since we now own a big piece of AIG, we'd want them to stay afloat, particularly on the only good unit they have. Waxman is an Idiot and he's trying to make political points by throwing an investment of the taxpayers under the bus.

Seller creek, you're off the mark with AIG. And Waxman's stunt yesterday (linked at my name) really pisses me off. AIG is like a lot of troubled insurance companies. Their insurance unit was very stable and profitable (insurance rates of return are pretty low though), and it was the risky financial mumbo-jumbo that screwed them, not claims and day to day insurance stuff. AIG's insurance unit is a strong business. And it has to be, or their asses would have been out of business a long time ago. Look at the oversight and regulation in insurance; they're required to segregate premiums to pay claims and are rgularly examined by every state in which they're allowed to do business. Non-compliant companies are kicked out ofstates all the time. Insurance is the most heavily regulated business in America (it should be, too), and AIG's insurance unit had nothing wrong with it. Anyway, I digress...

It turns out the $400,000 "executive junket" Waxman is yelling about was for agents, not a trip just for the fat-cats (quoting the Guardian):

An AIG spokesman said the event was to entertain independent insurance salesmen of AIG American General - one of the company's main US operations which offers life, health and accident policies.
"It was a recognition event for independent agents of AIG American General who distribute insurance policies," said the spokesman. "It was planned months ago."

You know what? If they cancelled this trip it would REALLY piss off their best producers and they'd likely place less or no business with AIG next year. It would signal to the guys that keep AIG humming along that the company was out of business. Independent agents can place business anywhere. If AIG loses these guys (or even a chuck of their business) then all of a sudden the insurance side of AIG (which is all that kept the company from going under a while ago and is a well-structured unit) will suck too. Seems like since we now own a big piece of AIG, we'd want them to stay afloat, particularly since insurance is the only good unit they have. Waxman is an idiot and he's trying to make political points by throwing an investment of the taxpayers under the bus.

"You know what? If they cancelled this trip it would REALLY piss off their best producers and they'd likely place less or no business with AIG next year."

Spoken like a true independent insurance salesmen 'Eh... Mondo Freaks?

Opps "salesman"

HEY! Tell us again how gas station owners should be able to gouge gas prices!

Actually, I'm not an independent insurance agent. But I do work for a company who's ass would be in a sling without the loyal placement of business from insurance guys who have options. Surely you get this one no matter what sort of job you're in.

For example, lets say, I dunno, that you build houses for a living bejeeus. You do most of your lumber business with Company A. For decades, Company A has sent you and your spouse on trips provided you purchase X amount of product from them. Like an independent agent, as a builder you have options as to who you could use to make your business work. So Company A is falling on hard times, perhaps they're even restructuring in bankruptcy. The worst thing they could so is renege on their promise to take you and the spouse to the beach a week before the trip. That would pretty much guarantee that Company A would lose the trust and business of you, right? So how's Company A get their butt outta trouble by pushing away the folks that keep them in business (which is what canceling a trip would do).

The same holds true for many incentivized things. What if Capital One or AMEX cancelled your credit cards points or frequent flier miles... Would that make you more or less likely to do business with them again?

It goes on and on and on. But you probably work for the state bejeeus, and don't realy understand business. Its 11:00, so you're probably at lunch. I'll look for your response at about 1:00 or so when you get back or 4:30 or so when you're back home in Cabot.

Actually..."Mondo Freaks" I hand out Corporate Welfare and keep the delusion of a Free Market alive!
It's job security 'forsure!'
Lunch! Hell who's got time for lunch in this market?

Ahh, so you do work for the state!

Quick Action Closing Fund, anyone?

Na! Just a dumb taxpayer!

We're in the same boat then.

Sarah Palin's son is in Iraq fighting for his mom's right to call Obama an America-hatin' terrorist and for her to misquote the New York Times and a Starbucks coffee cup to her own sinister design. Oh, how Miss Sarah bravely scolded that heckler.

I'm still trying to figure out how the Iraq war has anything to do with upholding freedom of speech. Maybe because it represents such an outrageous abuse of power that people feel compelled to speak out against the war and the people who started it, and not everybody swallows the shite that Bush nation has been spewing for so many years?

But most importantly, how did a terrorist supporter get into a she-Bush rally in the first place? Cheney, waterboard somebody for that!

Sarah Palin's son is most likely in Iraq to avoid jail time for drug charges.

Sarah Palin's son is most likely in Iraq to avoid jail time for drug charges.

It's the backdoor draft.

Man, I'd pop pills with Cindy McCain, $5,000 blue dress or no blue dress. Preferably, no.

Why doesn't AIG (and other corporate entities, for that matter) actually cut the cost of their service and pass the savings along to the agents who buy from them--instead of keeping the cost elevated and paying for junkets, hookers, blow, etc? Isn't a corporate entitlement mentality how we got here to begin with?

Look at the oversight and regulation in insurance; they're required to segregate premiums to pay claims and are rgularly examined by every state in which they're allowed to do business.<<
by MF

You must be new. There's usually one state that inspects insurance companies and other states sign on. Call the Insurance Dept in L.R. and ask them the last time they inspected, audited, examined the records of a foreign insurance company.

"McCain Advisers Taking Ayers, Wright Off The Table?"

No traction on that one? Or could it be that BHO made one mention of KEATING FIVE and
McBush headed down never to return. In these times of corporate collapse the Lincoln Savings and Loan doesn't play so well. And McCain's involvement is on Congressional records. hard to argue with that. It's documented.

So today Hog Fans I'm wondering what's happened to

Ark Red ?

Strangelove ?

citizen journal ?

Harriet who despises free weeklies ?

Surely you could find better replacements than Pines and MAK. Well, maybe you cannot.

.

I agree eLwood. I hope they haven't been axed. I've thought of Max being a bigger man than that (philosophically...not physically).

ARK. BLOG: Of the names I recognize, none is currently under a ban. Strangelove was ruled off for two days for personal foul. But the ban was lifted a couple of days ago. His feelings are hurt, I guess.

"AIG hits up Fed for more money
Three weeks after an $85 billion bailout, AIG is turning to the New York Fed for additional funding."

...

" NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The New York Federal Reserve is lending up to $37.8 billion to American International Group to give the troubled insurer access to much-needed cash.

In exchange, AIG is giving the New York Fed investment-grade, fixed-income securities that it had previously lent out to other institutions for a fee. Those institutions are now returning these securities and want their money back.

The new program, announced Wednesday, is on top of the $85 billion the federal government agreed to lend to AIG last month to prevent the global company from collapsing. AIG said last Friday it had drawn down $61 billion." [CLICK]

"You get up every morning
From your alarm clock's warning
Take the 8:15 into the city

There's a whistle up above
And people pushin', people shovin'
And the girls who try to look pretty

And if your train's on time
You can get to work by nine
And start your slaving job to get your pay

If you ever get annoyed
Look at me I'm self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day
And I'll be...

Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way
I've been taking care of business, it's all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime
Work out... "