Our First Lady or The First Queen of America

A friend of mine who's working in Afghanistan sent this to me. Of course, it's just more fuel for the fire. Hipocrisy at the highest level where sacrifice has been asked of the American people yet there is no such holding back on their part.

From Canada Free Press, here:

"In my own life in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much," she said. "See, that's why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, "... Michelle Obama

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn't perform any official duties. But this hasn't deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession.Just think,  Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary from her husband's salary.

Total Personal Staff members for other first ladies paid by taxpayers:

                          Mamie Eisenhower:  One-- paid for personally out of President's salary.
                          Jackie Kennedy:        One
                          Rosaline Carter:        One
                          Barbara Bush:           One
                          Hilary Clinton:          Three
                          Laura Bush:              One
                          Michele Obama:       Twenty-two

How things have changed!  If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up  McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for  these servants of Ms Michelle are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by YOU, John Q. Public:

Michele Obama's personal staff:

One..      $172,200 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)
Two..      $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and       Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)
Three..    $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary for Mrs. Obama)
Four..      $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special  Assistant to the President
                           and Director of Communications for the First Lady)
Five..      $100,000 - Winter, Melissa (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
Six..        $90,000  Medina , David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
Seven..      $84,000 - Lilyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)
Eight..      $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)
Nine..      $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Project for the First Lady)
Ten..        $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
Eleven..    $64,000 - Reinstein, Joseph B.(Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
Twelve..    $62,000 - Goodman,  Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For The First Lady)
Thirteen..  $60,000  Fitz, Alan O.(Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director
                          for the First Lady)
Fourteen..  $57,500 - Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)
Fifteen...    $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary To The First Lady)
Sixteen..    $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide To The First Lady)
Seventeen..  $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence For The First Lady)
Eighteen..  $43,000 - Tubman, Samanth a (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)
Nineteen..  $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
Twenty..    $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)
Twenty-One... $35,000 - Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)
Twenty-Two.. $35,000 - Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of  Correspondence for the First Lady)
(total    $1,591,200 in annual salaries)

There has NEVER been anyone in the White House at any time who has created such an army of staffers whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First Lady's social life.

One wonders why she needs so much help, at taxpayer expense.

Note: This does not include makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49,  and "First Hairstylist" Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom traveled aboard Air Force One to Europe .

Copyright 2009 Canada Free Press.Com


 Yes, I know, The Canadian Free Press had to publish this, perhaps because America no longer has a free press and the USA media is  too scared that they might be considered racist or suffer at the hands of Obama.

Makes Me Want to Call Mom

When I read this I smiled and got a little misty, especially the last line. That's how I feel. I wonder if that's how I made my parents feel. I don't have a son, yet, but I have similar feelings for my daughter.

What Is a Boy?

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature called a boy. Boys come in assorted sizes, weights and colors, but all boys have the same creed: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to protest with noise (their only weapon) when their last minute is finished and the adult males pack them off to bed at night.

Boys are found everywhere—on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum.... Read more

By Alan Beck via The Art of Manliness

Why I Endure

This is skirting one of my rules; I will not talk badly about my job, and I won't but I want to stress the good things.

I don't have the most glamous job. In fact, it has a lot of negatives. One positive aspect is that I am surrounded by very intelligent people that know what they're doing. They are competent and specialized. They all bring something to the table. Sometimes it feels like I'm one of the lesser smart ones in the room... naahh!  I work here despite the negatives because it provides many positives, one of which is living in Korea.

I love this place; I love Daegu and it's four distinct seasons, it's regional character, and it's satori, or dialect. I've learned so much and lived here so long that being here has become the point, with my job being a distraction to my life.  I work to live.  I smile when I say that for two reasons.  First, it reminds me about that movie --- Under the Tuscan Sun and second, because if you knew me when I was in my twenties, then I was living to work.  My what a little age and a little girl will do to you.

I could do something else, but until my plan for world domination is complete, I have to go to my daily grind. Lately I've been reading about freelancing. A lot of the blogs I read talk about this, about leaving the cubicle and setting your own schedule and living a happier life. While that is appealing, it takes a lot of work and self-discipline. Not a problem, but what they fail to mention is the setup time, client base, and reputation that needs to built before people will trust your work. One of the things that Tim Ferris writes about, and I agree that I should expand on, is multiple income streams. A drawback of having only one job, or one income stream, is that it makes me dependent on it instead of the other way around. Hopefully, this blog and maybe a few other projects I'm working on will help me with that. Just to clarify, I'm not looking to leave my job, just not be dependent upon it. By developing multiple income streams I could become a better employee by being able to speak up more. Currently I constantly try to weigh my words before I speak.

An interesting characteristic between happiness and income is that it is generally an inverse relationship. The greater the happiness, the less income and vise-versa. It is rare to find a job that has both. It can be created, but again it takes time and acceptance of risk. And that my friends is what I can't do. I won't risk the welfare of my family for my own happiness. I am a man, and I accept my reality and any burdens or success that I must bear for my family.

My Juvenile Humor

Yes, I know reader. I can go on tirades about the Austrian economics and libertarian politics and compare Korean and American cultures. I can, just like all of you, be serious and passionate, but sometimes... Well, sometimes I need a little sophomoric humor. Perhaps you didn't like Van Wilder or any of the American Pie series, that's fine. I thought they were comedic gold! For some reason, there's something funny about a dude getting his plums squashed or getting shot in the ass. So expect more of my kind of humor and if you like it, then grab my feed... I mean my RSS, not my....you know. (Unless you're a good looking, legal-aged, woman)

Now let me share a few items that made me giggle like a little girl...They speak for themselves.

 

Twilight - Things I Dislike

Yup

 SOOOOOO Wrong!

More can be found at one of my favorite websites Very Demotivational.

Hail Yuna!

Good for Kim Yuna and Korea.

Congratualtions!  Woooooooooo!!

 

Image taken from Reuters

The expat blogosphere in Korea is exstatic about Korea's sweetheart (here, here, here, here, here, and here).  I am too! I think she trained hard did what she had to do and did it. It was well deserved. The wife mentioned that Asada Mao and several others did very well too, but Yuna took the cake.

I don't have much more to say that the other bloggers already said. Congratulation Kim Yuna!

The Single-Minded Devotion of IT

 

Update: I'm learning a little about blogging etiquette, so let me give credit where credit is due:  This and more can be found at xkcd.com.

Experience and Authenticity

I dislike Starbucks coffee. I've drank it a couple of times and found it tasty. It's not that I'm trying rebel against this perceived trend or some protest against those that like their coffee customized with twenty option. No. I don't agree with the price; I mean it is just a cup of coffee. Perhaps my taste is dull, perhaps I'm just stingy or simple about what goes into a cup of coffee: milk, a bit o'sugar and coffee strong enough to wake a battalion, thank you sir.

I recently watched this video from TED and it got me thinking. For those of you that don't know, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. The brightest people from these areas meet every year and exchange ideas, which often lead to new innovations. The gentleman proposes that we are witnessing a move to the next level in our economy; we are moving from a service oriented economy to an experience oriented economy. Doubters may say that this is simply an extension of the service economy; I haven't made up my mind, but he does bring up good points.

Why would a person pay $7 for a cup of coffee no different from one at the local gas station? They're not paying for the coffee, but rather the authentic experience of drinking a customized Starbucks coffee. If you were to ask that same person that bought their twenty option coffee from Starbucks, if they would pay for the same cup of coffee at a Starbucks imitation, they would probably tell you to jump off a bridge. The desire for an authentic experience is what people are willing to pay for.

So for all you people that are willing to pay for your $7 coffee and authentic experience, enjoy. I'll stick with my authentic $.07 instant coffee. Cheers!

Jerky Boy in Email

I work with computers all day long and email is an integral part of what I do. So when I read this guy, he reminds me of the Jerky Boys. It's nice to take a break here and there and have a laugh.

A Visual Depiction of Unemployment

A visual depiction of unemployment, by County, for the entire United States.  Scary.

Yeah, What Peter Schiff Said!

One of the candidates I support is Peter Schiff. He is the founder of EuroPacific Capital and predicted our current recession back in 2007.  At that time Peter was constantly laughed at by his peers. These same peers are the ones that said there was no real estate bubble; they are the economic advisers to the Obama administration.

In any case Peter is running for the Republican party nomination for the senatorial seat in Connecticut. He disagrees with the way the current administration is running the things. He believes in limited government and letting the free market work. Here is a quote from an email I received from him concerning the stimulus:

Government is the least efficient and most expensive means of job creation. In fact, we're paying $160,000 for each job created. Can you believe it? Just imagine all the jobs that were destroyed or that never were created because $160,000 that otherwise would have been invested by the private sector was spent by the government instead. In addition, Americans continue to lose jobs everyday despite the Obama Administration's failed efforts. We cannot afford to waste another several hundred billion dollars on a job killing "jobs bill" with our national debt nearly $12.4 trillion and Congress' recent decision to raise the debt ceiling by another $1.9 trillion. It's time to force Washington to play a limited role in governing, but we can only do that by electing leaders who will absolutely fight for fiscally conservative values. 

I agree.

I'll caveat that even though I am ripping into the current administration, I also bemoaned the Bush administration. In fact I despise both parties that say much and do little.  A government that governs least, governs best.