Oh Lance!
So finally Lance Armstrong has decided to stop the suing and charging at folks who knew all along that he was lying about his doping during his Tour De France days. And now, Mr. Armstrong wants to do a mea culpa at the alter of the "Confessor in Chief" Oprah Winfrey. Whew just what the doctor order for the struggling OWN network and it gets a "I'm over it" from COP 24/7.
Again how the mighty have fallen only to slink into our good graces with attempts to make all us "understand" their behavior, poor choices and their own personal accountability for the world they build around them. So what have we learned? According to those who handle these matters, they had shit load of evidence that this joker had been long involved with using illegal performance enhancing drugs EPO and others.
As the fallout continues, we've further learned that a tipping point came for Armstrong when he had to decide to tell his son Jake "not to defend him," as well as 75 Million dollars in endorsements that evaporated in the twinkling of an eye. Its all so sad, yet so familiar as we get another glimpse of human wreckage on full display for all to glibly watch in dis-taste. I'm of the opinion that not only public outlook will whip Armstrong, it will be the weight of his personal torment that will punish him the greatest. He's not the first and most likely will not be the last man with clay feet or the emperor without no clothes.
Oh!! The Debt
Did you hear it? Actually it dropped in December 2012 but with all that Christmas noise we didn't get a firm tone of the sound of the debt hitting 13 Trillion. Yes that's TRILLON with a capital "T." I never thought in my life time that such a word would ever be a realization. For that matter, I was skeptical with that "B" word as in "Billion," that came out of nowhere.
However, Billion is now an afterthought considering the national debt has hit somewhere around the 16 Trillion dollar mark and counting since that December landing. In preparing this piece I wanted to check the debt clock to see just where we all stand and it appears that each of us, that supposedly you and me, owe $52,311.73.
This is a WTF moment when you think that many of us are just a paycheck away from the poverty line. So take a gulp and hope that we can find some cuts steeped in a reality check. Stay in touch with the debt at: www.brillig.com
OH My! Mr. Nagin
Federal prosecutors have announced a 21-count indictment against former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, accused of enriching himself as the city struggled to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin is accused of using the office of mayor to steer city projects
to business associates who, in turn, allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes
and flew him on lavish free trips to Hawaii, Jamaica, and Las Vegas. Nagin was charged with bribery, honest service wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and filing false tax returns.
“The defendant C. Ray Nagin, knowingly devised a scheme and artifice to defraud the City of New Orleans and its citizens of his honest services through bribery and a kickback scheme, whereby Mayor Nagin used his public office and his official capacity to provide favorable treatment that benefitted the business and financial interests of individuals providing him with bribery/kickback payoffs in the form of checks, cash, granite inventory, wire transfers personal trips to luxury locales such as the Caribbean and Hawaii. All one can say is "WOW." This busta talked a whole lot of "corruption big talk" all the while holding those pockets open looking for every handout and backroom deal possible. Ugh....
So finally Lance Armstrong has decided to stop the suing and charging at folks who knew all along that he was lying about his doping during his Tour De France days. And now, Mr. Armstrong wants to do a mea culpa at the alter of the "Confessor in Chief" Oprah Winfrey. Whew just what the doctor order for the struggling OWN network and it gets a "I'm over it" from COP 24/7. Again how the mighty have fallen only to slink into our good graces with attempts to make all us "understand" their behavior, poor choices and their own personal accountability for the world they build around them. So what have we learned? According to those who handle these matters, they had shit load of evidence that this joker had been long involved with using illegal performance enhancing drugs EPO and others.
As the fallout continues, we've further learned that a tipping point came for Armstrong when he had to decide to tell his son Jake "not to defend him," as well as 75 Million dollars in endorsements that evaporated in the twinkling of an eye. Its all so sad, yet so familiar as we get another glimpse of human wreckage on full display for all to glibly watch in dis-taste. I'm of the opinion that not only public outlook will whip Armstrong, it will be the weight of his personal torment that will punish him the greatest. He's not the first and most likely will not be the last man with clay feet or the emperor without no clothes.
Oh!! The Debt
Did you hear it? Actually it dropped in December 2012 but with all that Christmas noise we didn't get a firm tone of the sound of the debt hitting 13 Trillion. Yes that's TRILLON with a capital "T." I never thought in my life time that such a word would ever be a realization. For that matter, I was skeptical with that "B" word as in "Billion," that came out of nowhere. However, Billion is now an afterthought considering the national debt has hit somewhere around the 16 Trillion dollar mark and counting since that December landing. In preparing this piece I wanted to check the debt clock to see just where we all stand and it appears that each of us, that supposedly you and me, owe $52,311.73.
This is a WTF moment when you think that many of us are just a paycheck away from the poverty line. So take a gulp and hope that we can find some cuts steeped in a reality check. Stay in touch with the debt at: www.brillig.com
OH My! Mr. Nagin
Federal prosecutors have announced a 21-count indictment against former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, accused of enriching himself as the city struggled to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin is accused of using the office of mayor to steer city projects
to business associates who, in turn, allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes
and flew him on lavish free trips to Hawaii, Jamaica, and Las Vegas. Nagin was charged with bribery, honest service wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and filing false tax returns.“The defendant C. Ray Nagin, knowingly devised a scheme and artifice to defraud the City of New Orleans and its citizens of his honest services through bribery and a kickback scheme, whereby Mayor Nagin used his public office and his official capacity to provide favorable treatment that benefitted the business and financial interests of individuals providing him with bribery/kickback payoffs in the form of checks, cash, granite inventory, wire transfers personal trips to luxury locales such as the Caribbean and Hawaii. All one can say is "WOW." This busta talked a whole lot of "corruption big talk" all the while holding those pockets open looking for every handout and backroom deal possible. Ugh....
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