CHRISTMAS TIME!!

There are certainly many upsetting and blood-pressure raising headlines in the news today; however, it is Christmas time and I am going to focus on the holiday this week.

I have taken a week vacation to spend with my family. We are not going anywhere - I am home with my beautiful, 10 year old daughter and we are going to make cookies and cocoa, wrap presents, I am going to kiss my husband under the mistletoe and discuss with my family what Christmas is really about - celebrating the coming of the Christ.

I normally stay away from Faith specific topics and am aware that many of my fellow bloggers may not share my belief in Jesus Christ, but for this week - I will share my Savior with anyone willing to listen.

I believe in Heaven and Hell and I believe that the soul will go on after the body dies. I believe that there are consequences for sin and that the cost is steep. I believe Jesus was born to intercede for me and that he accepted my punishment for my sins. I believe that he went to the cross willingly and died so that I can go to Heaven. The only thing he asks in return is for my faith in him. We are saved by GRACE, through FAITH. Good deeds are not what he requires, but they are a natural by-product of a grateful heart and a true belief that Jesus died for us. When you have a true belief in Jesus and what he did, you can not help but be grateful and that thankfulness spills over into everything that you do.

A result of my belief in my Savior is that I do have a thankful heart. I seek truth and justice in both my personal and professional life. I try to be kind to others and to help others where I can, because I believe he wants us to love others. Sometimes I fail, but if I did not ever fail and was a perfect person - Why would I need a savior?

I ponder the hours leading up to Jesus' arrest and consider how difficult it must have been, knowing that he would be tortured and hung on a cross to die like a criminal when he had committed no crime. How would I feel if I had to accept punishment for an offense I had not committed? And to not have the benefit of a fair trial? I would be pretty angry and resentful; he wasn't. The Bible says that when the soldiers came to arrest him, Peter tried to protect Jesus, but Jesus asked Peter to stand aside and allowed himself to be arrested - knowing that his purpose was greater than what his Disciples could fully comprehend.

Christmas is a time to celebrate the fulfillment of a promise from God to send the Savior. Because of Jesus I am saved; not perfect or sin free, only forgiven. THANK YOU, GOD!!

If anyone out there is contemplating Jesus and has questions, I am happy to answer what I can. I am not a pastor and may not have all the answers, but I am more than glad to share what I can with you.

ARE YOU COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT YET??!

The president, George W. Bush has again decided to ignore the will of the people and also the decision of Congress and is authorizing a BAILOUT for the Big Three; $17.4 BILLION dollars.

PLUS, Congress is due for the annual pay increase; however, just as I said about the corporate execs with the Big Three, do you really get a raise when you are doing a completely crappy job? Congress' approval rating has been as low as 12% in recent months and yet they still feel deserving of a raise.

I AM SICK OF ELECTED OFFICIALS SPENDING TAXPAYER MONEY WITH SO LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY!

You people have got to be kidding. Most of Congress is independently wealthy; it wasn't supposed to be that way but who else can take off work from a real job for months at a time to campaign?? I know I can't. Yet they want more.

There are a few heroes that are standing up to colleagues regarding this pay raise. Rep. Harry Mitchell, a first-term Democrat from Arizona, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind,Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-SC and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah are all opposed to the pay hike and some have taken drastic measures against it. Mitchell, Burton and Barrett have all tried to push legislation that would curtail automatic pay increases, but the efforts were unsuccessful. Burton is returning his pay increase to the Treasury Department. Matheson has been trying to put the brakes on automatic pay raises for 8 years, but has been voted down by the greedier colleagues.

I see this as a bi-partisan problem and a bi-partisan effort to stop it. I want to give credit where it is due. Mitchell and Matheson are both Democrats on the right side of this issue and I thank them for looking out for the taxpayers. I hope that Bill O'Reilly points them out as "Patriots" this week. No one else seems to be looking out for the citizens of this country.

I want a REAL CHANGE. I want leaders that are not all about spending more of my hard earned money on wasteful, stupid programs that are (1)useless (Endowment for the Arts, PBS), (b) don't work (No Child Left Behind, Homeland Security)or (c) a complete insult to my sense of right and wrong (Planned Parenthood). Next election cycle, I may just advocate firing ALL INCUMBANTS.

AIG LAWSUIT!!

This will make your head explode if you haven't already heard about it. A lawsuit has been filed by the Thomas More Law Center on behalf of Kevin J. Murray, a former Marine infantryman claims that AIG promotes terrorism. According to a statement released by the Thomas More Law Center, The basis of the lawsuit is that AIG intentionally promotes Shariah-compliant businesses and insurance products, which by necessity must comply with the 1200 year old body of Islamic canon law based on the Quran, which demands the conversion, subjugation, or destruction of the infidel West, including the United States. To help achieve these objectives and with the aid of federal tax dollars, AIG employs a three-person Shariah Advisory Board, with members from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Pakistan. According to AIG, the role of its Shariah authority “is to review operations, supervise its development of Islamic products, and determine Shariah compliance of these products and investments.”

The purpose of the lawsuit is to stop any more taxpayer money from going to terrorist organizations. It is believed by some that these Shariah banks send money to Hamas, Al-Qaeda and to spread anti-American sentiment.

I do not know how much truth there is to these allegations, but if it is true - this is incredibly frightening; I DO KNOW, that I do not want anymore taxpayer money going to AIG!!

New note to AIG Executives: GIVE BACK the TAXPAYER MONEY AND WE WILL ALL GO AWAY. Well, I will, but if you are really funding terrorists... DOJ probably won't!

HOORAY!! Finally some IQ points make an appearance!!

The Senate announced this morning that the Auto Industry Bailout failed last night. The UAW refused to accept pay cuts that would put them in the same pay scale comparable to other auto workers in non-union plants. The pay cuts would be necessary for the Big Three to remain competitive; however, the UAW disagreed. UAW President Ron UAW President Ron Gettelfinger seems to be in denial of the situation and actually stated that bankruptcy for the Big Three "is not an option".

The fact of the matter is that not only is it an option - it is the only one left absent an agreement from the UAW to accept a pay cut. Apparently Gettelfinger does not understand that the Big Three are not ABLE to pay those exaggerated wages. THERE IS NO MONEY LEFT IN THE TILL.

I think the Big Three should each file bankruptcy and relocate to the Southern States where you can hire as many people as you need to work for one-third the salary. Areas north of Dallas have had other industries close and the area has plenty of people willing to work. I am sure that the other Southern States have similar issues - I am from Texas and simply know about the situation there first hand. Do a little research and find a handful of areas not run by the out-of-control unions and put plants there. Get a fresh start and out from under the grandiose union contracts.

I believe this can actually be a good thing for the Big Three - perhaps they can attain the level of superior workmanship and reputaion they once held. I am not sure they can do it with the current leadership; so far, I do not hear of any expected changes. If they get someone in there that knows how to run a profitable business - they will rise again.

OPEN ADDRESS TO AIG EXECUTIVES

Since AIG is the company I have been ranting about the most regarding the BAILOUTS (I still refuse to refer to this as a rescue.), I thought we should post the names and office of the AIG executives. Until today, they have been nameless, faceless entities; however, I believe the individuals responsible for AIG should be noticed publicly and I am writing an open letter to them as an unwilling stockholder.

To all the Top Executives at American International Group, Incorporated

Win J. Neuger Executive VP/Other Executive Officer
Edmund S. W. Tse Director/Other Corporate Officer
Andrew J. Kaslow Other Executive Officer/Senior VP
Frank G. Wisner Divisional Vice Chairman
Robert E. Lewis Chief Risk Officer/Senior VP
Jacob A. Frenkel Divisional Vice Chairman
Edward M. Liddy CEO/Chairman of the Board/Director
Anastasia D. Kelly Executive VP/General Counsel/Other Corporate Officer
David L. Herzog CFO/Executive VP
James F. Orr Director

Dear AIG Executives,

I am a government employee that earns less than $50K a year. You came to ME - the taxpayer - to BAIL OUT your company in this troubled economy. Against my wishes (and the wishes of most of the country), Congress decided to give you $700 BILLION DOLLARS.

Since that time, we the taxpayers have heard about your extravagant trips to the spa, golfing trips, trips to exclusive resorts and now you want your annual bonuses in excess of $250K for yourselves.

I do not know any of you personally, but how greedy can you possibly be??? I make less than $50,000 a year and you still ask for a bonus - for what? Ruining the company you are responsible to manage? I do not receive a bonus and do not think anybody failing in their job deserves any type of bonus. A BONUS is supposed to be a reward above the earned pay for a job well done.

Frankly, I can not believe you people had the audacity to ask for or expect anything besides a swift kick in the pants out the door. If I fail at my job, I get FIRED - not a bonus for being a dumbass! What you call a "bonus" and the "cost of doing business", I call it Criminal Misappropriation of Funds. You came to the taxpayers pleading poverty and then go out and wine and dine yourselves and pat each other on the backs, spending money like drunken sailors. YOU MAKE ME SICK.

You need to learn how to work within a budget, like the rest of us that are paying our bills and our taxes. YOU CAN NOT AFFORD TO BE GOING TO THE SPA!! YOU CAN NOT AFFORD SIX AND SEVEN FIGURE BONUSES. If you can afford to spend money the way you have been, RETURN the $700 BILLION to the TAXPAYERS. Otherwise, I hope to see your sorry mugs on FOX NEWS when the Attorney General indicts all of you for fraud.
Sincerely,
The TenaciousTexan, aka: ANGRY TAXPAYER

To all of my fellow ANGRY TAXPAYERS, If you have photos or know where we can locate photos of these CRIMINALS, please send them to me. I would love to post them on my page.

Where's the duct tape!!??

Anyone that listens to the GREAT GLENN BECK knows that when he is discussing news on his radio show that is so egregious, he says he needs duct tape to prevent his brain from exploding when his blood pressure is on the rise.

I NEED DUCT TAPE!! AND LOTS OF IT!!

AIG is at it again and I am at a loss, to say the least. How can they possibly be this egotistical as to think that (a) we have the attention span of a knat, or (b) we are so stupid and would think that the following is a good idea.

This is quote from an AP article posted 43 minutes ago - "In a recent letter to Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., AIG CEO Edward M. Liddy said 168 employees were scheduled to receive retention payments ranging from $92,500 to $4 million."

Even if each of the 168 people received the minimum suggested bonus, we are talking about $149,850,000. We are easily talking about a quarter million, when you factor in that they are NOT all getting the minimum. Ya know, considering this is AIG we are talking about, they are probably all getting the $4 million...

IS THIS A JOKE OR WHAT??!!

The AIG executives must be the craziest bunch of idiots on the planet!! They are under the microscope because you and I are paying their way and have the nerve to expect their annual bonus's that exceed my annual salary. I cannot believe they still do not get it!!

I wish the DOJ would launch an investigation, but I guess they are too busy with Illinois...

AIG EXECUTIVES: YOU ARE BEING PAID BY THE TAXPAYERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. YOU ARE NO LONGER A PRIVATE BUSINESS - YOU HAVE FORCED ME AND EVERY OTHER TAXPAYER TO BECOME STOCKHOLDERS IN YOUR FAILING COMPANY.
When you can carry your own weight, take as big a bonus as you want! When you ask me to pay for it, you get SQUAT for a bonus!!
YOU DO NOT GET A BONUS LARGER THAN MINE!!

Is anyone really surprised?

I have to say that I am not really all that shocked to hear about Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, IL. The media describe his behavior as "jaw-dropping", shocking and appalling. I agree it IS appalling, but shocking - not really. I have always said that when you rise to that level of politics that this is the kind of character you will find.

The part that did shock me was his incredible level of stupidity. He knew that he was being investigated, yet continued his mafia-like conduct. He knew that he was likely being recorded, yet continued to conduct his criminal actions on the phone. He knows now for certain that he was recorded, yet was on the news following his arrest saying there is no cloud hanging over him, only "sunshine." He denies any wrongdoing in the face of indisputable evidence.

I can not help but wonder... Has anybody considered that possibility of mental illness?? He may really have a shot at an insanity defense!

This is only the tip of the iceberg and Illinois is in big trouble. The last governor of Illinois is also in Federal prison for corruption. Additionally, Blagojevich was not only selling a Senate seat. I read the first 18 pages of the indictment. He has been selling all kinds of goverment appointments, influence on state committees and all sorts of favors for years. Hmmm, anybody sensing a pattern or problem in Illinois.

My first thought when I heard snippets of the tapes was that he is incredibly comfortable with his illegal acts. He indicated no concern for being caught or arrested. He clearly shows no remorse and appears to be in complete denial of his current situation.

Illinois certainly has a huge mess to clean up in the state politics; however, my fear is that they are not alone. Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plummer, told Glenn Beck that he was appalled by answers he got from John McCain regarding the BAILOUTs while on the campaign trail. He said that it made him sick and angry seeing and hearing McCain. Texans have long believed that our governor, Rick Perry is corrupt, but to my knowledge he has never been investigated (if someone will, we won't object!!). I feel pretty certain that every state could do with some house cleaning!

I think most politicains have been in it so long, they don't even know how dirty they really are.