OkieBrent's Soapbox

In a review by the Obama Administration’s so-called “pay czar,” 17 Banks who were bailed out in 2008 by Congress and the BUSH Administration were paid excessive salaries and/or bonuses of $1.6 Billion.  The time period reviewed was October 2008 to February 2009 – that is after they were bailed out and it only covers five months.

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I am extremely disappointed that Kenneth Feinberg (the pay czar) believes that “shaming” the banks is punishment enough.

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These Banks (the list is at the bottom of my comments) are truly unpatriotic – especially at a time when we were on the brink of another Great Depression and our government saved them (and our nation’s economy) from total collapse.

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Imagine that instead of 17 greedy big-bank-CEO’s paying themselves $1.6 billion they instead used that money to create jobs for American families.  Imagine that the salary for each job was set at $45,000 per year.  That $1.6 billion in excessive pay by 17 unpatriotic banks could have gone to pay 2,091 American Citizens.

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The following 17 banks could have tried to help a struggling nation, but instead let greed rule over good.

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1. AIG
2. CIT Group
3. Goldman Sachs
4. JPMorgan Chase
5. American Express Co.
6. Bank of America Corp.
7. Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc.
8. Capital One Financial Corp.
9. Citigroup Inc.
10. M & T Bank Corp.
11. Morgan Stanley
12. Regions Financial Corp.
13. SunTrust Banks Inc.
14. Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
15. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
16. USBancorp
17. Wells Fargo & Co.

For more please visit the Center for American Progress

I guess I should have made that headline to say something like – April 13th was Right-wing Oklahoma Day on MSNBC…

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Read the ThinkProgress blog posting on it here.

And I encourage everyone to watch a special Rachel Maddow Show – April 19, 2010

The McVeigh Tapes – here is a preview

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And it continued on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And again on The Rachel Maddow Show

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Some news worth reading or watching:

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Two Party System At Risk

- by Major General Paul D. Eaton, Huffingtonpost.com

In her diatribe last night, Ms. Cheney accused the President of being an apologist for America, for abandoning our allies and for appeasing our enemies. She truly accepts the notion that if all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks to be a nail.

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Hate-crimes exclusion bill killed

- by Barbara Hoberock, Tulsa World

A controversial hate-crimes bill did not get a hearing Monday in a House committee.

Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, became the House author of Senate Bill 1965, by Sen. Steven Russell, R-Oklahoma City. Shelton said he took control of the bill to kill it and asked that the bill not get heard in the House Judiciary Committee.

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Rachel Maddow on Senator Tom Coburn

- MSNBC

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Words are important.  They have different meanings to different people.

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I grew up in a small town in southwestern Oklahoma.  On Saturdays, I would go to the Hollis Livestock Auction with my dad to either buy or sell cattle, or just see what price they were bringing.  I remember one Saturday going to the “sale” and overhearing a couple of teens talking.  One of them used a word I did not know.

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When I got home I looked the word up in my dictionary and found out it was the technical term for a female dog.  Well I loved my female dog Wendy; therefore it had to be a good word.  I had learned a new word and was proud of myself for doing so.

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The following Monday a friend and I were walking down the hall at Sally Gillentine Elementary when I thought I would show my smarts.  I was talking about something Wendy had done and used the new word I had learned.  Well it just so happened that Mr. Crow, the school principal overheard me.  He stopped us and called me into his office.

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Mr. Crow scolded me for using that word and asked me if I knew what it meant.  I told him I did know what the word meant and described how I had learned the new word.  He then explained to me that the word also had a different meaning that was very bad and I should not use the word again.

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Words have different meanings to different people.

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It’s an election year and today there are politicians using certain words to arouse their base.  People are not happy and the easiest group to blame for the ills of today is the government.  While I am positive a majority of these politicians do not want to encourage extremists to act against our government, one would think that especially those from Oklahoma would be more cautious about the words they use.

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Not too long ago the mood of the country was much like it is today and anti-government rhetoric was commonly used.  It was a regular theme on editorial pages of daily newspapers and frequently espoused by politicians running for office.  Then something tragic happened.

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Fifteen years ago this month, a couple of Americans who took that anti-government rhetoric to heart acted on their rage.  Targeting their hatred of our Federal Government, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, both military veterans, bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killing 168 Oklahomans, including 19 children.

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For some, a call to rise up against our government can simply mean get out and vote, but for others it can have a wretchedly different meaning.  If you hear an Oklahoma politician expressing anti-government verbiage, especially one who is currently a part of that government, I hope you will remind him or her that words have different meanings to different people and the use of certain words can have unintended consequences and then ask them to remember April 19, 1995.

Lots of pain.  Here is a sampling of what the continuous mantra and action of “cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes” and the worst recession since the Great Depression has lead to:

• state Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services – board met last week and discussed plans to reduce its staff by 100 jobs and cut services and programs. The agency took action to cut $7.3 million from its budget in the wake of declining state revenues. Read the story here.

• Ethics Commmission – The state agency that is charged with policing political campaigns will be furloughing staff members right in the middle of the 2010 election cycle if current budget projections hold up.  Read the story here.  

• Career Tech – The Oklahoma Board of Career and Technology Education approved a voluntary buyout plan Thursday for its employees in the wake of declining state revenue – the board anticipates that 30 employees will take the buyout. Read the story here.  

• Public Schools – If funding cuts get any steeper, the Edmond School District will have to let go of teachers next year, Edmond school officials said this week.  Read the story here.

• Seniors – $7.4 million in funding cuts to senior nutrition programs – many may be forced into nursing homes, 97,744 meals not delivered in Tulsa County, 3 Oklahoma County sites closed, Canadian County $27,364 already cut with sites closing an extra day each week, Cleveland County $36,006 cut with one site closed and another serving meals only 3 days a week, etc. etc. etc.  Read the story here.

• Public Safety – Budget cuts are proving particularly troubling for prosecutors and others who enforce state laws. … Oklahomans also will see fewer Highway Patrol troopers and might have to wait longer to renew a driver’s license, said Kevin Ward, the commissioner for public safety. Read the story here.  

Countdown 11/12/09

The above video is from today’s Washington Post.  I admire and respect Tammy Duckworth who is an Iraq War Veteran.  I thank all those serving in our military today, and all those who have done so in the past.