Everyone said it couldn't happen...

...but Rep. Barney Frank is trying to make it a reality.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Beyond-AIG-A-Bill-to-let-Big-Government-Set-Your-Salary-42158597.html

He wants the right to regulate the pay of ALL EMPLOYEES of ANY company who received government funds. This means that Washington, D.C. could set the salaries, benefits, bonuses, and perks for virtually every bank in the country. Plus, presumably, the auto makers and other companies currently begging for bailout money. The bill would be retroactive, so everyone who has ever accepted a penny would be covered.

Who says they can't pass an Ex Post Facto law? The Constitution? Silly rabbit.

Reminder: Conficker goes off TOMORROW

If you are a PC user, remember that the Conficker worm/computer virus is set to activate tonight at midnight.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.9849350f816804a357829631f0fd7a21.51&show_article=1

Be sure to update your virus scanner, install security updates, and confirm that you are not infected. If you are, this worm could take control of your computer and use it to do any number of illegal things, including capturing your credit card numbers during shopping online.

If you are a Mac or Linux user, you are safe.

Stimulus Money Coming to CT Rail-Trails

Most Mod-Bloggers know that I have been enjoying biking for the last year, and those of you who have ridden with me know that I have been enjoying the various rail-trails that Connecticut has to offer. For those of you who are not aware, a rail-trail is a biking/hiking trail that has been built on an old railroad bed that had been abandoned. It is a good way to make use of the many level areas of continuous path that are left over from the age of the iron horse.

It now appears that Connecticut will be using some of its stimulus money to extend and refurbish existing rail-trails across the state. While I am not a fan of the pork-laden stimulus package, I can think of worse things to spend the money on.

Did PETA save animals or kill them?

For years, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have set themselves up as the ultimate spokespeople for animals in their interactions with humans. They have attacked celebrities who wear fur, they have criticized pet owners, and they have lambasted meat-eaters as mass murderers. Now, a new report is questioning this stand by noting how few pets turned over to PETA survived the experience.

According to public records from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, PETA killed 2,124 pets last year and placed only seven in adoptive homes. Since 1998, a total of 21,339 dogs and cats have died at the hands of PETA workers.

Despite having a $32 million budget, PETA does not operate an adoption shelter. PETA employees make no discernible effort to find homes for the thousands of pets they kill every year. Last year, the Center for Consumer Freedom petitioned Virginia’s State Veterinarian to reclassify PETA as a slaughterhouse.

It should be noted this release was NOT from an uninterested third-party, but rather an organization that has attacked PETA in the past. Still, the report appears to be quite damning.

On the GM/Chrysler Re-Bailout...

...I have two questions to ask President Obama...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123841609048669495.html

...which I hope he addressed and I have just not found online.

1. Why is the government essentially subsidizing a buyout of Chrysler by an Italian company (Fiat)? If we're letting the jobs go overseas, why not just let it go bankrupt?

2. How does it help GM to sell cars to know the warrantee on it is run by the same people who are talking about rationing Health Care? ("Well, technically the fuel injectors are covered, but we don't deem that a critical issue. Come back in 6 months and try again.")

Is it any surprise that the market is greeting this announcement with a stock selloff?

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

It's funny because it's true

"Freedom Tower" No More?

In the emotional days after 9/11, the owners of the World Trade Center land promised that the replacement to the fallen towers would be a monument to those who died, to be called "the Freedom Tower." This was presented as a way to honor the fallen - and prove our victory over the terrorists - without requiring a more formal monument or grave site. But now, the owners are backpedaling and apparently want to use the more humble "One World Trade Center" monicker.

The change from Freedom Tower was revealed Thursday at a news conference where the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced the signing of the first commercial lease in the building to a Chinese company. The building is expected to be completed in late 2013.

"We've referred to the primary building planned for the site as One World Trade Center -- its legal name and street address -- for almost two years now, as well as using the name the Freedom Tower," said Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the Port Authority, in a statement released to CNN. "Many will always refer to it as the Freedom Tower, but as the building moves out of the planning stage and into full construction and leasing, we believe that going forward it is most practical to market the building as One World Trade Center."

I understand the intent here, I think. First, One World Trade Center is highly descriptive and brings about a level of credibility to any business firm that chooses to do business there. And second - though this is unsaid in the article - avoiding the name "Freedom Tower" is probably seen as a way to avoid making the new tower a too-tempting target for politically-minded ne'er-do-wells, whether they be terrorists or hostile powers. But we need to understand that the blood of thousands has been shed on this site, and we also need to honor the dead with some kind of monument or memorial. Any attempt to return to business-as-usual without remembering those lost will simply make the building a pariah in NYC and for any who remembers the horror of those days.

Biking Update - March 28, 2009

A good week for weight loss and biking! For weight loss, I hit a new low of 207.0 lbs after a few weeks or more or less static weight. I am back up to riding 12 miles a night on the stationary bike, which amounts to an hour of riding, and the hour of riding always makes a big difference over 45 minutes (10 miles) in my body's fitness and rate of weight loss. I am wondering if I might actually go below 200 lbs before the one-year anniversary of my biking career on June 1. My original goal was to reach 230 lbs before then, and I have been below there for a long time now (since December). It is nice to have a new goal to shoot for, but I need to remind myself that the real test is not losing MORE weight, but keeping off what I have lost in the long-term. That is why brings about real health benefits.

On the biking front, I had a new challenge at an old place this past weekend. We went riding with the Bowhunter Family along the Stratford Shore again. But this time, I was the carriage horse who was pulling the trailer with the Bowhunter babies for the entire ride (12 miles). This is like adding back in the 75 lbs I have lost so far back onto my body for the rate of the entire ride. The girls seemed to enjoy it (they both fell comfortably asleep to the smooth rhythm of the pedaling, and woke up happy afterward) and it forced my body to work a lot harder than usual. It also kept me from outpacing the others who are not biking every night. :-) Most of the time. Bowhunter confided to me at the end that after that ride I had pulled the girls in the trailer for more consecutive miles than he had ever done. Nice! (Bowhunter has been biking for decades, and had pulled the girls to the grocery store in that trailer many times.)

This upcoming week may be a bit leaner in terms of outdoor biking opportunities. Saturday is spoken for with Quiz Team and Sunday is spoken for with a family/friends-as-close-as-family commitment. But with the sunset later, it is possible we may be able to sneak in a few opportunities. We shall see.

Is the Economic Crisis in America a "Banana Republic-Style Event"?

As we struggle to deal with the Recession and its various economic crises, it is useful to look back on history as a guide. TheAtlantic.Com has up an article from a former IMF executive who things we should NOT look back to the Great Depression, but to the third-world IMF bailouts of the 80s and 90s for clues to what caused our problems.

In its depth and suddenness, the U.S. economic and financial crisis is shockingly reminiscent of moments we have recently seen in emerging markets (and only in emerging markets): South Korea (1997), Malaysia (1998), Russia and Argentina (time and again). In each of those cases, global investors, afraid that the country or its financial sector wouldn’t be able to pay off mountainous debt, suddenly stopped lending. And in each case, that fear became self-fulfilling, as banks that couldn’t roll over their debt did, in fact, become unable to pay. This is precisely what drove Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy on September 15, causing all sources of funding to the U.S. financial sector to dry up overnight. Just as in emerging-market crises, the weakness in the banking system has quickly rippled out into the rest of the economy, causing a severe economic contraction and hardship for millions of people.

But there’s a deeper and more disturbing similarity: elite business interests—financiers, in the case of the U.S.—played a central role in creating the crisis, making ever-larger gambles, with the implicit backing of the government, until the inevitable collapse. More alarming, they are now using their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are needed, and fast, to pull the economy out of its nosedive. The government seems helpless, or unwilling, to act against them.

While I am certainly no financial whiz, this smacks of truth to me. We keep seeing Washington DC eager to bail out companies "too big to fail", to assume debt from failed enterprises, and to "tweak the system" in an attempt to turn back the clock of history. But why not allow failed companies to... well... fail? Because they contributed a LOT to your election, and their failure would bankrupt you for the next election cycle. The marriage of money and power always leads to problems for a democracy.

"Quiverfull"?

I had noticed a lot more large families at the churches I attend and visit. Whereas one day four kids was a lot, nowadays at many churches you see families of 7 or 10. I thought it was interesting, but apparently it is a movement. Who knew?

The movement, called Quiverfull, is based on Psalm 127, which says, "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."...The Swansons subscribe to the Quiverfull movement.

"When we first got married, we actually didn't want children," Kelly's husband, Jeff Swanson, says.

But then the Swansons began to notice that the Bible was very high on big families. And Kelly says that she and Jeff decided that God knew how many children they could handle.

"We just started thinking, 'God is sovereign over life and death. God opens and closes the womb,' " Kelly says. "That's what his word says, so why we're trying to fiddle around and controlling ourselves, we need to stop doing that."

Honestly, I find the idea a bit strange, although I know this kind of thing was the norm only a few generations ago. My grandfather came from a huge family... but only a small number made it to adulthood. Is this a reaction to the overpopulation mania of the 70s, or a real Biblical idea?

Romanian Leader Elevates Priority of Saving Money

A leader in a Romanian district has decided that saving money in these tough economic times should be a higher priority than some people's comfort. He has ordered that the elevators at the Prefects office only run from 7am-9am and 3pm-5pm. This seems like a good idea to me as that will let most people use the elevators, but will cut out the inefficient times. I know this can't happen in the US because of Disability laws, but I hope this will spur other on to creative ways to save money.

The Geithner Plan to regulate financial services industry

Secretary of the Treasure Tim Geithner today laid out his plans to overhaul regulation of the financial services industry with significant new regulation and oversight.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9d8a6dd2-1a11-11de-9f91-0000779fd2ac.html

There is a lot to be said about these actions by Secretary Geithner, but I really have just one question for Mod-Bloggers. Why is every financial plan out of the Obama White House "The Geithner Plan"? Shouldn't at least some of these be "The Obama Plan"? We have the Monroe Doctrine, the Bush Doctrine, etc., but the current president seems loathe to put his own name onto anything. Perhaps to provide deniability when/if the plan should fail.

Oops, Mythbusters shatters windows

Ah, the joys of a television show that is both beloved and highly flammable. Apparently, Mythbusters was filming a segment on explosives when they used a tad too much ammonium nitrate. When it was set off, it caused panic in a nearby town and shattered windows.

http://www.kcra.com/cnn-news/19016582/detail.html

It sounds like in the end no one was hurt, and the show is paying to replace the shattered windows. Still, it is a reminder that even entertainment can be hazardous in our day and age.

White House's "Online Town Meeting"

I don't agree with President Obama on many things, but I am continually impressed by the innovation his administration is bringing to the online experience. George W. Bush's White House could not even back up their e-mails properly, but Barack Obama's White House is hosting an online town hall meeting where users both submit questions to the president and then vote on which ones he should address.

It may well be that we'll learn the questions actually get picked by Obama's handlers. But if this is real, it is really a great thing to try out.

The other side of the AIG bonuses debacle

While many of us lean right here at Mod-Blog, we try to tell both sides of the story whenever possible. So, it was with great interest that I saw the NYTimes had posted a resignation letter from an AIG executive who was in the middle of the bonuses scandal. It gives an eloquent defense of the bonuses and is worth a read.

The profitability of the businesses with which I was associated clearly supported my compensation. I never received any pay resulting from the credit default swaps that are now losing so much money. I did, however, like many others here, lose a significant portion of my life savings in the form of deferred compensation invested in the capital of A.I.G.-F.P. because of those losses. In this way I have personally suffered from this controversial activity — directly as well as indirectly with the rest of the taxpayers...As most of us have done nothing wrong, guilt is not a motivation to surrender our earnings. We have worked 12 long months under these contracts and now deserve to be paid as promised. None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house.

Many of the employees have, in the past six months, turned down job offers from more stable employers, based on A.I.G.’s assurances that the contracts would be honored. They are now angry about having been misled by A.I.G.’s promises and are not inclined to return the money as a favor to you.

Conficker Worm activating April 1

Did you know if you are a PC owner that your machine may be hiding a dark secret? As many as 10 million PCs are believed to be infected with a worm program called "Conficker C" which is currently dormant, but appears set to activate on April 1. What the program will do on April 1 is unknown, but it may allow some remote criminal to take control of the entire network of computers.

More likely, though, said DeBolt, the virus may try to get computer users to buy fake software or spend money on other phony products.

Experts said computer hackers largely have moved away from showboating and causing random trouble. They now usually try to make money off their viral programs.

DeBolt said Conficker C imbeds itself deep in the computer where it is difficult to track. The program, for instance, stops Windows from conducting automatic updates that could prevent the malware from causing damage.

The program's code is also written to evolve over time and its author appears to be making updates to thwart some of the Conficker Cabal's attempts to neuter the worm.

If you own a PC without up-to-date virus protection and the latest updates, you have 6 days to deal with this. After that point, if you are infected then you are at risk for anything from stolen personal information to someone piping illegal materials thru your machine. Now is the time to get right. Or get a Mac (sorry, couldn't resist).

UnderArmour CEO cuts salary to $26K

Yeah, it is a cheap publicity stunt, but such things can sometimes be important for inspiring us. The CEO of UnderArmour clothing has cut his salary from $500K to $26K when his company failed to meet sales goals. The salary is the same amount he earned in his first year as CEO.

Such symbolic gestures are sometimes important to motivate the rank-and-file that make a company run. Moves like this bring about hope and a sense of teamwork. The alternative is the sense of fear that comes with layoffs, or the sense of injustice that comes from seeing failed executives walk away will millions in bonuses.

Alaskan Volcano Erupts

The eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state was one of the formative events of my youth. I still remember finding ash on my father's car on the East Coast a few days later. It kindled a life-long love of geology and vulcanism. Now, we may be seeing the birth of another generation of geologists as Alaska's Mount Redoubt has erupted!

A total of five "explosive events" were recorded at Mount Redoubt, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters Monday.

The eruptions sent ash columns some 60,000 feet into the air above the snow-covered peak, and several communities west of Anchorage, Alaska, reported falling ash, officials said.

It also raised concern about ash fallout in towns near the volcano.

The eruption is not nearly as spectacular as Mount Saint Helens and is unlikely to effect the mainland of the USA. But it is still fascinating to know that the Earth is far less stable and certain than we usually take for granted.

A Defense of the Geithner Plan

Since Secretary Geithner announced his $1 trillion plan for combating the economic crisis, there has been a surplus of critics and a shortage of defenders. The whole thing looks like a boondoggle to most of us. But I was able to find one intelligent defense of the package that is worth a read for Conservatives and Liberals alike.

Q: Where does the trillion dollars come from?

A: $150 billion comes from the TARP in the form of equity, $820 billion from the FDIC in the form of debt, and $30 billion from the hedge fund and pension fund managers who will be hired to make the investments and run the program's operations.

Q: Why is the government making hedge and pension fund managers kick in $30 billion?

A: So that they have skin in the game, and so do not take excessive risks with the taxpayers' money because their own money is on the line as well.

Q: Why then should hedge and pension fund managers agree to run this?

A: Because they stand to make a fortune when markets recover or when the acquired toxic assets are held to maturity: they make the full equity returns on their $30 billion invested--which is leveraged up to $1 trillion with government money.