Up The Middle

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0605081spirit1.html

Nothing beats suing yr church for catching the spirit

(I guess i'm making up for all those days i don't post, last one...maybe:)

So you may or may not know that famed former MLB star Jose Canseco's 2.5 million (that’s right million) dollar home is being foreclosed on. Now this in itself while on the surface shocking that a millionaires home is being foreclosed, is not really all that news worthy. He basically stopped paying his mortgage because in his words "it wasn't worth it." Thousands of homeowners have done this as debt on their home has substantially outgrown its now deflated (in all actuality 'real') value. To me, his celebrity makes that move no more news worthy than my neighbor being foreclosed for the same reason, and actually less so because unlike many average Americans he certainly is in no real danger of going homeless. If one stops making house payments then obviously the bank will foreclose. What is news worthy however is the downtrodden way in which Canseco described his financial situation:

"You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think [you're set], `OK, let's assume it is $35 million.' People have to understand that $35 million, you're paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you're taking care of your whole family."

*Gosh, life must be hard with a meager $18 million to live off of, jeez i think i'm getting teary just thinking about how he may have to down grade his Mercedes or, travesty of travesties, sell it *gasp.* 

You have got to be fucking kidding me, this man is whining because he only has $18 million to cover his expenses. If your life is that fucking difficult with that much money you need to invest in a financial planner because obviously your investment decisions, or lack thereof, are not sound. Not to say money solves everything but don't whine about how hard it is being a millionaire to the vast majority of people who will never even see that much money at one time in their entire lives. And to add insult to injury i don't think he’s following in the footsteps of MC Hammer either since he has two expose-type books coming out and is trying to get a movie produced. *Man it just gets so hard for the rich and famous sometimes.* I wish i lived a life were i could gripe about how few millions i had to live off of. I think the King of Saudi Arabia, the Sam Walton children, and Bill Gates may be mailing out sympathy cards as i type but from the rest of us- planet earth calling Canseco- get. the. fuck. over. it.

What next, will we hear how Bill Gates *only* has a couple of billion in stock options, an unfathomable salary, and a fat ass pension to live off of. I can picture it now " You don't understand how hard it is, after taxes i've only got $12 billion to support my entire family. I know that seems like a lot but do you realize how much maintenance is on a 250,000 square foot mansion?"

All my empathy for Canseco on his financial problems boils down to three letters- S.F.W.

For those affected by the infamous exxon valdez spill its do or die time, nineteen years later that is- because of the bottomless pockets and corporate greediness that is Exxon Mobil the battle for punitive damages has reached the supreme court and i'm apprehensive about the way this will all end. You can see the full article here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080225/ap_on_re_us/scotus_exxon_valdez
But in summary the company responsible for the largest oil spill in history, for damaging thousands of peoples livelihoods, for devastating an ecosystem that by all accounts (except, of course, their own) has still not fully recovered doesn't want to pay damages to the victims of its folly because "they shouldn't be responsible for the actions of the helmsman." Well lets see he was employed by yr company wasn't he? So i think that makes u responsible. Oh you've already paid $3.5 billion for the cost of this spill, oh well let me shed a tear for the big oil company. I'm sorry exxon fucked up, they deserve to pay every last cent that can be extracted from them. And what pisses me off the most is that Exxon posted a $40.6 billion profit last year, the largest in the US but apparently the $2.5 B that is being asked is going to bankrupt the company. And of course we all know that no one buys gas or diesel anymore so theres going to be no way to recover that *kind* of profit loss. I really hope the court rules against them but i'm afraid it may not happen. If they had just gone ahead and paid this money instead of spending it on their high powered legal team and nineteen years of fucking appeals everyone could have put this behind them now. It never ceases to amaze me at the lenghts some companies will go inorder to not have to pay money. 

I'm sorry that you have been so put upon for something that u did, Exxon, its a travesty- u did all u could, i mean after all the skipper was just drunk its not like he was smoking crack or anything and i'm sure yr CEO was down in alaska personally cleaning oil off birds and kissing babies, really i'm truly sorry that the big bad public is out to sink yr struggling oil company. Its sad. With that said pay the fuck up and shut the fuck up!

I feel the need to say something about the article and video circulating of the Florida student being tasered at the Kerry function. 

I don't understand the outrage- he precipated the actions against him. I'm not implying that police brutality and abuse don't exist but this is simply not a case of that. This man was clearly being disorderly, the video shows him telling officers who are trying to escort him away to "get the fuck off me." Then he promptly resists arrest when being pulled away. The american public is quick to jump on police officers, but how bout you put yrself in their shoes. What if all u wanted to do is escort a man, who was clearly making the event his personal forum and preventing other students from asking questions, out of the building and he started to cuss and swing at you. Then when u try to manhandle him away he becomes even more beligerent and resistant. So u try to handcuff him and he fights u? Could u always keep yr cool, do u have another suggestion for making him obey? Or should they have just let him go and proved that the law doesn't apply to him and can't really be enforced? A lot of ppl expect police officers to be superhuman, to have some divine solution for problems. They don't, they are men and women just like everyone else.

Some want to make this about politics, that this is some kind of "state" act. He wasn't arrested b/c he hogged the mic, he was arrested because he wouldn't leave, he wasn't tased b/c he asked a question, he was tased b/c he was resisting arrest.  His questions were cheeky at best- were kerry and bush a member of skull & bones? impeaching president bush? These were  not overly serious questions and definitely of limited importance. But even so thats not why he was asked to leave- he was told his time was up yet proceeded with his absurd questions. Police were obviously trying to allow other students a chance to ask Senator Kerry (who i'm certain was not available indefinitely) a question or two. It was clearly then that the student NOT law enforcement began to escalate the situtation. And on the oft chance that he was handcuffed before being tased, an individual in cuffs can still resist, can refuse to and make it difficult to pick himself up, kick, flail,etc. With the reaction to this incident by some you would think police officers pistol whipped him or drug him cuffed behind their car. 

Lace sent me this article today, and we were both immediately infuriated by its implications if this should pass (pls read before u read my rebuttal). And for those of you that want to say that’s not here or I don’t dress that way, yr state/city could be next.

"If someone says there should be a law against that, chances are there probably shouldn't"