mpvan's Blog

Obama's employment application list for work in his administration.  The one that was going around that asked all the questions about personal emails to what you might have thought about.

Clearly all a charade because one of the big dogs, Commerce Secretary appointee,Bill Richardson, is under a grand jury investigation on how political donors were awarded state contracts in his home state of New Mexico.

Wouldn't all of this have come out during the application process?   All those invasive illegal questions made for nice window dressing for future applicants and gave the public the charade that only the honest, clean, law abiding, need apply for the Obama Administration. 

And on the other charade, the planned stimulus package that Obama wants on his signing desk Jan. 20 right after the inauguration thing, is going to take a bit longer.   Yes,  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says it will take time to "review" it, and the timeline would be delayed till mid-February.  Say it ain't so,  they're going to read this one?  What about the last one.   When asked about the number ($700billion) Paulson said, "we didn't really have any number in mind but we knew it had to be really big.

So now they need more time to review something that doesn't even exist.  But they know there's going to be many pages of ......uh......stuff on them to review.    We know we're going to pass it, but we just need more time to give the illusion that we're working really hard on it. 

It is becoming even more clear as to why I don't vote.  There isn't one that would get my approval to be a part of this charade.  

Larry Marshall, formerly of the Chiefs, ( #22 kick returner, 1972) gets into a scuffle at the liquor store he owns with another guy, in the early 90s.  The other combatant emerges with a scratch but several concealed injuries, like a skull fracture and brain bleed.  This man dies last week of complications resulting of the scuffle and his death is listed as a homicide.
Marshall and the co-owner plead guilty to assault  and his record is expunged.
It is widely reported that Marshall and the co-owner will not face charges in the homicide due to double jeopardy, or the thinking is that you can't be tried twice for the same crime.

Clearly absent from the published reports are any comments from  the prosecutorial Wizards from the Jackson County  Prosecutors office.   These are the short thinkers ultimately responsible for the crime rate in KC and the catch and release program the police have fallen in love with.   Not to mention all the sweet deals lately for murderers.  Just ask the Osborne's, and their brother killed on a bike in the thrill kill.   

Scanning back to 1993, the victim has a skull fracture, brain bleed, and is reduced to a vegetable.  So they (the short bus prosecutors)  charge the two with assault full well knowing he could die of his injuries.  Why charge him at all if the assault is expunged from his record after a few years and it's like it didn't happen at all? Because if he dies, the two get away with murder.  So the victim dies, they can't charge him, and they get away with murder.

Explain how additional charges can't be leveled if the result (passing), is different.  Does it not make it a different crime? 

Way to go Jackson County, keep up the good work, you people seem to work with impunity.

At the SEC, or Securities and Exchange Commission.  If they even had the light on they would have heeded Harry Markopolos' warnings that he has been sending them since 1999 about the Madoff scheme to the tune of 50 billion dollars.

Madoff's returns defied logic warned Markopolous.  In layman's terms it would be analagous to hitting .926 every year while everyone else struggled between .280 and .330. 

I think the evidence given to the SEC by Markopolous overwhelmed them and they just didn't want of have the time to digest it all, let alone know what to do with it if they did understand it.  Then someone would have to repeat the whole story to a judge. 

Yahoo or Google main page keyword search  Madoof and Markopolous warnings.

The one repeating theme through most catastrophes here is that people are actually  falsely depending on the Federal Government.  This after watching them help Katrina and Ike victims, give away 700-800 billion to organizations not even where it was originally intended to go, and.....I don't know,  running social security and the medicare drug program.

Those survivalists might be on to something. 

Perhaps the learning curve will set in when one confronts the police with deadly force, but in KcK the past few days it doesn't seem to be the case.

The 1st guy comes out shooting at the traffic stop at 35th and Metropolitan and the second guy displays deadly force against the FBI and KcK 5-0 in the 400 blk of Shawnee Ave.  Both suspects dead no cops injured, that's gun control, hitting your target.

And the 2nd guy's neighbor in the 400 blk needs to join the comedy circuit.   "Oh, I don't believe he would do any of those things, he was such a nice guy, known him since the 5th grade."   The warrant was being served for rape and indecent liberties with a child. 

Bomb diffuser, in Oregon.  So they find a bomb, OUTSIDE bank  in Oregon, call in the bomb "expert" and in his infinite wisdom, he brings it in the bank.  Why did he brought it in the bank?   Because he didn't think it was real.  Well, that being the case leave the fake thing outside.  Not being real it will do just as much damage  not going off outside as inside. 

But, it goes off inside and kills a policeman, the bomb guy, and injures an employee or two of the bank. 

How do you become a bomb diffuser, I guess if you're filling out the application, you must have done ok....up till now!   Clearly you just can't tell by looking at if it's real or not.  Wouldn't that be on the first page of the training manual. 

The second page should keep any device outside the building, away from the employees. 

How do the people around you, the bomb expert, know how good you are? 

Chiefs Musings:

King Carl, you're a genius.  The announced attendance for a 2-11 team on a 20 degree December day against a 5-8 team, in a bad economy, 11 days before xmas.  I mean really, how do you sell that many, people clearly don't show up but someone is footing the bill.  A lot of $5-$10 tickets on Craigs list.  Even the club level looked a bit vacant.

I think the $25 million tax abatement for setting up training camp in St. Joe is another stroke of genius.   St. Joe still qualifies as being north of KC so it clearly will be cooler in the heat of July and August.  Keeping the show in Mo is another stroke of genius.  Chances are some of them are "graduates" from the KCMO school district and will go along with your $25 million stick-up  for 4 weeks of watching a 2-14 team practice. 

Ok, to the field.  Hunt says two 4-12 seasons are unacceptable.  Very little chance of attaining that so you're clear there.  Anything but 4-12 and you get to keep your job.  He never said improve on it, just don't have another 4-12 season.  2-14, or 3-13 will suffice not being 2-14.  5-11-----unattainable!

Wouldn't it be cool if SD won it's last two games, and Denver lost, and hit the playoffs with an 8-8 record?  KC would be their springboard for that scenario!

Good teams screw up clock management, pass on 3rd and one, don't take FG's when they should, (Oakland), have their star QB hurt, (NE) and can still win a few games.  KC has the unique chemistry to find a way to chalk up bizzare losses. 

Green, Broken Brittle Brodie, Huard, Thigpen, no defined QB's in Herm's tenure.  Holding the other team to zero only means the best you can do is tie 0-0.  Gotta score points, it starts with the QB.  Helps to have someone catch the easy passes too, and an occasional onside kick.

 

Now it has been proposed that a car czar be named for the automotive bailout, Yahoo news 12/7.  I don't think they make this stuff up, although it sounds as if they should.

Have your elected officials lost sight of things?    Drug Czar, Education Czar, Terrorist Czar, Energy Czar if there's a problem, there is a czar close behind.

And what does a czar mean?  Extra powers, an illusion that they're "smarter" than everyone else?  An express lane for getting things done?  A direct report to the head idiot--in this case Bush, so he can "focus" on the problem at hand.  When I think of a Czar, I think of a really big hat, a king size chair with table, a crystal ball, and a monstrous size room so it can all fit.

All it really does is create another layer of inefficiency and delay.  It may decrease the unemployment level by 1person though.

Czar is synonymous with "smart."   Smart Car, smart deal, smart system, smart rate, smart computer, smart drug.   After calling Jeremy Franklin's smart deal, and finding out what it really is......smart is stupid, Czar is stupid.

In 12 days?   What the...... 

 The money holders told the Bad 3 auto honchos to show them they have a viable, successful, business plan for the 3 sinking ships by Dec. 2.

If they could do that in 12 days, they probably could have done it 12 years ago, or perhaps 12 days before the current hearings.    All those economists, MBA's, lawyers, CPA's, working for the automakers have been doing nothing for the past 50 years and now their future depends on a new plan devised by Dec. 2.   

It has turned into a comedy show on both fronts because neither side knows what to do and they are playing charades with each other.

The government morons are concerned how they flew in, full well knowing they flew in on private jets because there is news footage of that happening.  They have lost sight of the fact that they are talking to 3 very very rich, multimillionaires, and personally, they are not there to ask the government to bail them out.   They are asking the government to ask them to bail out Joe assembly line worker.    They all forgot that Gary Forsee, Sprint main man, got well over 100 million to leave Sprint.  The guys at the top are so far insulated in pay from the guy at the bottom.  Way out of touch too.

The Automobile side does not have a viable plan to survive.  It should have started 30-40 years ago in 1973 and 1979, when the first oil problems came to light.  Big 3 are the ones FIGHTING gas mileage requirements and clean air standards.   And you know what,  they will come up with a plan, any plan, and they will get the money. 

Both sides are aware that the last thing Americans need is a new car made by the Big 3 in the current economic times.  No one wants to publicly admit it.   Housing mortgages,  401k shrinkage, xmas bills,  1.5 million jobs lost (other than auto makers), don't bode well for many new cars being sold.   People are cutting back, this economy is a consumer spending driven economy.

Why 25billion, why not 100billion?  It is all lost money anyway.  A loan is the worst thing.....there's no chance of ever getting that back.  But it sounds good, it keeps up the charade put on by the government to the taxpayers that they will get their money back!
And the money comes from the original 700b plan that was voted for something entirely else!

Voters:      you put these people in charge!

First rule:  Don't show up on a private plane.  Not that it really matters, but you will be embarrassed.   Seems like the key question was:  "Ok, lets see a show of hands who took a commercial flight to the hearings.   Let the record show no hands were raised."

How stupid is that.   It immediately implies that if you took a commercial flight.......bingo you get the money, and if not.........no soup for you.   Or, was it just to embarrass the beggars.  May as well go down to the Plaza and ask Jerry Mazur why he's wearing shoes.  BTW Jerry is the famous beggar that won the suit vs the city of KCMO.    

Second Rule:    The people in charge haven't a clue as to what they're going to do with the $700-850billion dollars.  But there was a big sigh of relief when the thing was passed.   Holding companies of banks are eligible for the cashola.   American Express,  and today, 11/20, GMAC--the finance arm of GM have applied for status as bank holding companies.  Since the administrators of all this money clearly haven't a clue,  they will surely get the money to go join AIG at their house party.

Third Rule:  They still don't have a clue with what to do with the money or who to give away to.  It was originally voted to buy bad bank loans.  But, Paulson, the Fed chief, changed his mind.  Why don't they revoke it then if it isn't going where it was intended to go? 

Fourth Rule:  This is a first for them and they just don't know how to give out that much money.    Set aside  a billion and randomly pay off mortgages and give tax free GM cars away.  That way the money will actually go to a few people in need. 

 

Picked the Chiefs to win one because they lost three in a row in the last three weeks, but they were close games so it almost counts as a win.  I almost got caught up in the hype Herm was trying to sell us.  It worked on everyone else, another sellout was announced.  Great job King Carl. 
Back to the game at hand and the reason for the turnaround.  New Orleans 1st in offense putting up almost 400yds/game.  Chiefs last in offense giving up 407/yds/game.  And.......a lot of defensive starters missing. 

The Auto Industry.  GM, the benefit company which just happens to build cars, will be out of cash  in about 4 months and can't borrow any.  They're going through 2 billion bucks a month as a cost of doing business.  Ford is right behind them.  Katie Couric on the news tonight, 11/11, says that in addition to the direct job losses of the auto workers, total job loss would be around 2.5 million people.  These includes supply companies whose sole existence is supplying a specific part for a model, the local diner, and the list goes on and on till the 2.5 million mark, nationwide, is reached.  The retirees, whose health benefits were once a promise of 30+ years of service would be no more.  Good paying jobs with mortgages attached. 
The Cato Institute guy had a dissenting voice.  Why bail out a car company whose products Americans don't want to buy.  Why reward mismanagement and an inability to gauge market awareness. 
That same government bailed out the same mismanagement the mortgage bankers and that entire chain started, to the tune of 850 billion.
The U.S. is funding their own debt!

Ok, so we have the drawing at work for free Chiefs tickets, and I lose again......that means I get 4 free tickets.   The winner got 2.   

I can't get the wife or kids to go because the Chiefs lose all the time, so I ask a buddy, and he inquires, "Free tickets I hope" and I concur, so we go.

Now I've got 2 extra's to sell to offset the $22.00 parking.  So I'm standing at the corner between Arrowhead and the K with everyone else selling extras and this guy comes up and tells me I can't sell tickets because it's in direct competition with the Chiefs.

This "guy" isn't a cop, and I'm unclear if he's an official from the Chiefs organization.  Not wanting to cause an argument with this guy for which I can get booted, we move and and sell them anyway.  For $15 ea.

So now it has me wondering.  The Chiefs rent the Stadium, can they prohibit secondary ticket sales, the game was deemed a sellout for local broadcast,  and the ticket scalping law has been overturned with the Royals and Chiefs major proponents of that law.

Was this guy correct in trying to prohibit people from secondary ticket sales?

 

A business in Raytown gets vandalized a few times.  So the owner (dumb) and his friend/employee (dumber) decide to do their own stake-out for the culprits.  Guess the police are real busy.  Dumber shoots in the leg what he thinks is a vandal, but turns out to be dumb, the owner. 

Workmen's comp claim?

Does dumber still have a job there?  Will he get promoted in the owner's absence?

Will it get vandalized now that they know for sure there's no surveillance?

Toplikar, the guy caught stealing his opponents signs in south Jo Co.  How cool is that?  Is there a better political ad/news story running? 

I mean, hey no bones about it, you're voting for a thief.  Everyone else has their opponent telling the audience what a dirt bag they are and Toplikar sends his own message.  Talk about honesty in telling everyone what a thief you are,  this is tops.  If I was in his district, he would be my man.  He need not stop at county commissioner or whatever he's running for, there are much higher  positions, all the way to President, that need his services.  Skip the AIG people....they're all claiming innocence too.

I even like his response on tape when he got caught.  "Well he (Hayden, his opponent) is messing with my signs."   No proof, but seemingly bad enough behavior to warrant it himself!  Again, a true politician.  Bet he wins hands (sticky) down! 

And the police,  the best they can do is petty theft and maybe tresspassing.  A small price for the free campaign ad.

 

 

Any chance the Chiefs can just call in the loss and save all the injuries and embarassment?   They've still got an hour and 15 minutes to do so!

Looks like the KCSTAR has the Chiefs on the short end of all the pregame categories, the biggest spread is the rushing yards allowed, everything else is withing 20-50yds.  NYJ 83yds/game given up, KC almost 150.  Plus no LJ again.  He'll be watching from the Blondes on the Plaza.  Women will be banned from 11am -5pm btw!

But.....last time they had the Chiefs on all  the short sticks was Denver.