I wrote this yesterday

3-17-09

I am writing late today for blog time. I had reports to do this morning, and then I got caught up on some other work, which then left me with it being 1 in the afternoon, falling asleep, and looking for something to wake myself up.

It is St. Patty’s day and shockingly, no one is wearing green around here. I have given most folks a hard time, including, and most importantly, my boss. I am always amazed that people laugh at me. Of course, they could be laughing just to hide their anger. And for all I know, the boss has my name on the short list of people to can in 09. I would imagine a chuckle thrown my way after I slammed him for his lack of green was worth the satisfaction if he was planning on giving me a pink slip. Perhaps he would use green paper just as a nice insult.

There are a couple of stories in the news that interested me, but I am unsure if I will write extensively about them today. There is the obvious of the AIG mess. There is also the release of Sarah Jane Olson. I find that one particularly fascinating. It is possible that this is a woman who was evil, who seems to have self rehabilitated herself. Of course, I understand she needs to serve time for all that she did. She killed a woman. She caused another woman to miscarry. She committed several crimes and put countless people at risk with her involvement with the SLA. She was caught many years after the crimes, where she had become a devoted wife and mother, a model citizen. I am impressed with what she has accomplished in terms of being a fugitive and stayed out of trouble. I also start to wonder, what the hell were LA courts doing in the 70’s where this chick got away after being charged?? Didn’t they do pretty much the same thing with Polanski??

It comes down to this. Do we waste money housing and prosecuting a woman who has done no more wrong things since her crimes, or do we look to seeing what caused her to be bad in the first place so that we can stop other people from doing the same things again? She served her 6 years or so, and she is going to I think its Minnesota to do her parole. Everyone is up in arms about that, too. Dude, yes, it makes sense to keep someone in the state they messed up in. But once again, is it worth the fight for her?? What if she skips town at this point? Does she truly seem like someone who is going to make anymore pipe bombs? Do we think she is going to rob banks? I somehow doubt she is a threat to society at this point. Not that she is above the law, but she certainly isn’t the one we need to be spinning our wheels on. People get shot in this city every day, and we are wasting time on a 30 year old case? I would venture a guess, too, that it makes zero difference if she feels remorse for her crimes. The victim’s son pretty much stated that she did her time and that he just never wants to see or think about Olson again. He wants to heal. He wants to move on. I would bet that he hates her, and with good reason. But even he sees that it makes no sense to continue fighting to keep this woman behind bars. Last year, they released her too early, and she had to be rearrested. Who miscalculated a whole freaking year of a sentence?? If anyone else had that happen, you can bet the city would have been sued. If your sentencing is that confusing to figure out, perhaps you need a new system.

Either way, I just find that the whole thing is crazy. It is as if we as a society are concentrating on the wrong things. They are planning on trying to get the money back from the executives who were given bonuses at AIG. Unless those folks wrote the check to themselves, I am sorry, but you can’t hold them responsible. You can hold the ones who signed the checks. They are all upset because 11 of the 74 people who got these outrageous bonuses no longer are with the company. Do you blame them??? Shoot, they knew their company was going under soon enough. I too would take the money and run. Especially when it was apparently in their contract to get said bonus. Sure, it is a pretty fucked up thing to do on their part. But you can’t blame them. It isn’t right. Morals and values don’t always come into play when it comes to your job. Case and point. There was this layoff at my work a few years back where this girl in our department was let go to cut back on or expenses. Yet on the very next day, the boss drove up in a brand new car. Sure, he may have saved up for it and we don’t know that there was anything illegal or scandalous, but it was rude. It was horrible that they would flaunt their new car after members of their staff were let go due to budget cuts. But you can’t get mad at the boss. I have been told by birdies that even though last year (and we are still in this) we were not allowed raises, many executives got 6 figure bonuses. Hmmm, sounds just like AIG. Ok, our bonus rate is considerable lower being that no one got 6.4 million, but the idea is the same. Is it irresponsible of the employees here to accept that bonus? Maybe, but should they be penalized after the fact?

I probably sound like an idiot, especially when I don’t have enough of the fact at my finger tips. As I said before, I had not planned on writing much about these topics as I needed more info and more time to digest. But my initial feelings on both is what I have documented right now.

People, as much as I want them to be, are not always good. And people, as much as we wish they weren’t, get stupid. So many people feel they are entitled to things they are not, and so many people pick their battles incorrectly. The case against Howard K Stern and Ann’a drugs? Seems like that could have been resolved 2 years ago when the woman died. And if they gave her drugs she wasn’t prescribed, isn’t she an idiot for not taking control of her life and not letting her lawyer handle that? Rhianna is back with Chris Brown and singing with him. She is an idiot. Bottom line. I can feel bad for her at the same time I think she is an idiot. I still say prosecute Brown since once he leaves her, it is pretty likely he will hit again. This is a case that makes sent to pursue.

Ok, I am all worked up now and I only have like 15 minutes left. I don’t see me posting this from work, but I will try when I get home.