Donkey of the Month: Lady Gaga, President Obama, BP's Tony Hayward or New York Governor (David A Paterson)
Politics / US Politics Jul 01, 2010 - 05:47 AM GMTBy: JD_Rosendahl
Welcome to my monthly rant about people acting like bad little boys and girls in, or reported as such, in the month of June 2010. The month was a busy month of men and women acting strange, outrageous, insane and just plain stupid. There were several candidates on the bubble who didn't make the elite eight, but somehow, I expect they will take another run at "Donkey of the Month" in the near future. Here are my elite eight candidates:
Nominee #1: Mildred Fernandez, Orange County Commissioner
Suspended Orange County Commissioner Mildred Fernández pleads not guilty
Suspended Orange County Commissioner Mildred Fernandez was charged May 17 on 14 counts including racketeering, bribery, grand theft and other campaign violations. Fernandez was arrested April 27 after an undercover sting operation involved her accepting campaign funds for a development project. She has yet to withdraw from the Orange County Mayoral race. (Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel / May 4, 2010)
It only goes to show that power and greed corrupt, and are gender bias. Good luck with the Mayoral race, Mildred (and oh yeah, with defending yourself as well).
Nominee #2: Jim Greer, Florida GOP former Chairman
Florida GOP ex-Chairman Jim Greer leaves jail after being indicted
State agents and Seminole County deputies walked into ousted Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer's Oviedo mansion Wednesday morning while he was shaving and hauled him off to jail on corruption charges, alleging that he pocketed at least $125,000 in party funds.
According to state investigators, Greer devised a scheme to siphon off a cut of the donations from major Republican donors after he had fallen on hard financial times, despite a party salary of $130,000 a year.
Its stories like this one that makes me wish stoning was still a viable form of punishment.
Nominee #3: Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pushes loans for sound small businesses
Bernanke, however, said it's difficult to divine whether the decline in lending to small businesses was being driven more by weaker demand or reduced supply because loans are harder to get. Lenders and borrowers have different perspectives the problem, he said.
Hi Mr. Bernanke: I'm a business banker, I can say, "There are less qualified borrowers to lend to. There are fewer borrowers who demonstrate an ability to pay or re-pay a loan. I think you know this.” As a banker, I had to throw this candidate into the month of June 2010.
Nominee #4: Venus Williams
French Open 2010 Outfits: Serena Williams Looked Classy, Venus Williams Looked Nude
Just like at any other major tennis tournament, the Williams sister were once again top competitors and the subject of controversy.
Scratch that.
Only one of them riled up critics, and it was not the one who infamously berated a line judge.
No, this time around it was the older Williams, Venus, who caught everyone’s critical attention. Parading around in outfits that have been described as reminiscent of a burlesque house, a lingerie show, or the Moulin Rouge, Venus did not do her character any favors.
French Open 2010 Outfits: Serena Williams Looked Classy, Venus Williams Looked Nude.
Tennis is a sport I used to play a lot. It's a game that often reminds me of managing money because there's such a great deal of risk, reward and recovery. However, it's also a game that demonstrates and expects a great deal of grace, dignity and respect.
It's one thing to lose your cool in the heat of the battle over an umpire’s call you disagree with, but an entirely different thing to cognitively decide well before a match to wear an outfit on the court of play that so disgraces and disrespects the game.
The Final Four: The prior four candidates, while part of the elite eight, didn't have a chance to advance into the final four of June’s Donkey of the Month. Before we get out the Final Four, I'd like to ask the reader to allow me the indulgence of a little fluff in such a prestigious award as "Donkey of the Month" with my next nomination.
Nominee #5: Lady Gaga
Yes, you guess it...............................It's Lady Gaga, the super star entertainer in the music business:
Gaga goes batty! Diva pitches a fit at Mets' Citi game
The eccentric singer stripped down to her bra and bikini bottom and boorishly barraged fans and photographers with a double-barrel bird-flipping during a bizarre, profanity-laced meltdown.
It seems Lady Gaga was disturbed that the seats she was given for the Mets game were too close to camera people or Paparazzi, and in her mind that was enough to blow her lid and show the world the middle finger, two in fact.
I like a couple of her songs, but I doubt I'm her demographic target audience. That being said, I find her act to be a cheap knock off of Madonna, while on crack. Since she was wearing the same bikini top and bottoms from a video she made, I have to guess this was really nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt. Bad behavior in entertainment seems to pay off.
It's a good thing she's a talented musician/singer and her fans love her. Otherwise, her vocation would include the repeated and intimate use of a brass pole. I want to thank the reader for that indulgence.
Nominee #6: President Obama
Recently, the President was pressing Congress to spend money it didn't have to help States and Cities as they don’t have the money to continue overpaying public employees.
Obama Appeals to Congress for $50 Billion in Emergency Aid
Congressional leaders received a letter from the president asking for almost $50 billion for distribution to state and local governments saying that increased spending is “urgent and unavoidable,” the Post reported. The money would protect the jobs of teachers, police and firefighters.
“Because the urgency is high—many school districts, cities and states are already being forced to make these layoffs,” Obama wrote, “these provisions must be passed as quickly as possible.”
Many economists are optimistic that packages such as this one could lower unemployment, but member of neither party seem eager to allow further spending; Republican concerns over record deficits are making Democrats think twice about approving more of Obama’s costly initiatives, the Post reported.
Luckily, politicians from both parties are listening to angry Americans voicing their concerns over more and more government spending. Is it me, or is it totally ridiculous for the President to recommend spending money from the federal government, money they don't have, to make payroll for public union employees at states and cities across American because states and cities don't have the money?
What a stupid idea.
Why isn't the President instead voicing his concerns about pay and benefit levels, and asking his union political donors to get real, it's in America’s best interest?
Nominee #7: Tony Hayward, CEO of BP
Tony is now starring in the Broadway Play: What Not to Say When Your Company Is Ruining the World, here are some of his lines:
“What the hell did we do to deserve this?"
"the Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume."
"the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest."
"there’s no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back."
On June 1, Hayward responded to claims that cleanup workers were being sickened by the fumes from the oil they were exposed to by suggesting another possible, non-oil-spill cause. When nine workers fell ill, according to Yahoo News, he told CNN that "food poisoning is clearly a big issue."
And let's not forget his selfless act: BP chief Tony Hayward sold shares weeks before oil spill
And then reported on June 1st, 2010 was his best quote: “I would like my life back.“
I think it's safe to assume, Mr. Hayward has handle himself in this oil spill nightmare like one of the three stooges.
Nominee #8: David A Paterson, NY State Governor
State Plan Makes Fund Both Borrower and Lender
ALBANY — Gov. David A Paterson and legislative leaders have tentatively agreed to allow the state and municipalities to borrow nearly $6 billion to help them make their required annual payments to the state pension fund.
And, in classic budgetary sleight-of-hand, they will borrow the money to make the payments to the pension fund — from the same pension fund.
As word of the plan spread, some denounced it as a shell game and a blatant effort by state leaders to avoid making difficult decisions, like cutting government spending or reducing pension benefits.
“It’s a classic Albany example of kicking the can down the road,” said Harry Wilson, the Republican candidate for comptroller, who holds an M.B.A. from Harvard.
What complete idiocy. When I read this story for the first time, I imagined Governor Paterson breaking into his children's piggy bank only to pay them their allowance. It's about that absurd and stupid. Harry Wilson has it dead right, its classic kicking the can.
Summary: We had a lot of candidates this month for "Donkey of the Month." I'm one who's always interested in results or the lack there of. In the case of the final four nominees, Lady Gaga's ill behaved manner is really a reflection on her and possibly just a publicity stunt that doesn't affect many. And while Obama's stupid plan to spend federal dollars to support States and Cities is ridiculous, luckily for now, it gained no traction in congress. We're all frustrated with the way Tony Hayward has handle the situation as CEO of BP, but the correct course of action from the CEO wouldn't have stopped one drop of oil flowing into the gulf, which is really what we are all outraged about in the first place.
That leaves us with David A Paterson Governor of New York, who had the opportunity to stop the insanity for 19 million New Yorkers by voting down the craziness of borrowing money from the State pension plan to make required payments to the State pension plan. He had the ability to choose the right course of action, for the benefit of millions of New Yorkers, and he took the wimp's way out.
Yes, David A Paterson, Governor of New York, you are my Donkey of the Month for June 2010!
Hope all is well.
By J.D. Rosendahl
www.roseysoutlook.blogspot.com
J.D. Rosendahl was a former stock broker/investment consultant (currently not licensed) before becoming a Commercial Banker for the past 14 years. He manages his family's wealth, helping them avoid the high tech bubble and the real estate bubble melt downs and preserving wealth.
© 2010 Copyright J.D. Rosendahl - All Rights Reserved
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