August 7th Show Recap:

Boss, the Plane! the Plane! (with a tip of our hat to Herve Villechaize)

Congress Gets An Upgrade to $500 million to buy eight jets - The plot thickens:
Lisa said this is an important story because it is indicative of the hypocrisy of Washington D.C.! Lisa asked - is this what we're paying our taxes for? It was reported that the shopping list goes beyond what the Air force requested. They sought to buy just one Gulfstream-5 and one business class equivalent to replace planes they already had that were aging and the Defense department wanted to buy two other planes that were being leased. But, the lawmakers in the House added to that appropriation.

Lisa quotes Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary who said "The Department of Defense didn't request the additional planes and doesn't need them. We ask for what we need and only what we need. We've always frowned upon earmarks and additives that are above and beyond what we ask for." Lisa said she thinks they lose their minds when they get to Washington D.C. and she knows they lose their perspective! They are bleeding us dry, they want more and more of our tax money and more of telling us what to do. They don't get it, a bunch of hypocrites - all of them!

The Healthcare Debate:
"Who is manipulating whom?" - asks Lisa. She cites a recent poll that shows 68% of people consider their health coverage good or excellent, leaving 32% - not in the mix. A fact to consider, said Lisa, is that the majority and then some, are happy with the status quo. She said that is a fact that must be considered when we advocate for change. There are town hall meetings being held and - reading between the lines - there is some organized activity upset and feel it’s being rammed down our throats. A lot of disorganized activity with regular people concerned or alarmed enough that they want to hear, in person, from their representatives about what is happening and voice their reservations.

Lisa states that nobody seems to be able to get hold of the substance and she keeps reading everything she can get her hands on, but it's a moving target. Who has time to read a thousand pages and figure it all out! She would like to see us incrementally fix what is wrong, rather than overhaul the whole process.

Immigrant Detention Centers:

Lisa said Obama hasn't been specific yet, but he wants to fix the problems with detention centers. The people being held in these centers are treated as if they have no civil rights and are far worse than those who are imprisoned in this country. Lisa said they don't have access to a lawyer, they can't see their families and over sixty have died in custody.
Regarding the reporting of this story, for one newspaper organization it's an important story, for another it is not - but Lisa said she is pleased Obama is looking into fixing the problem. The NY Times puts it on Page One, the Wall Street Journal buries it in a left bottom corner on Page 4. Moral: You have to read everything.

Another Hurdle for the Jobless: Credit Inquiries:

Citing a New York Times article written by Jonathan Glater, Lisa said it is now becoming a standard regular process when you want to get a job, for employers to do a credit check on you. Lisa asked about the relevancy of someone's credit history with the job they are applying for. It is not always a relevant straight line. Lisa said you can't necessarily equate someone with a poor credit history as someone who will make a poor employee.
If the employee has old debts, the IRS and a judge will garnish their wages, so it's really not the employer's business. In today's economy when people have fallen behind on their mortgages and credit cards, how are you going to help them climb back up the ladder by not giving them a job, because "you've" decided that their credit rating isn't good enough? How will they improve their lives, she asked. Lisa said these people are not criminals who deserve "a second chance" and forgiveness from their debt to society. It's hard enough for those people and that's a different subject entirely. You don't know people with a poor credit history chose to file for bankruptcy because they are sick and couldn't cover their cancer costs. You don't have any relationship with them, yet you are already barring the door.

Lisa states, that this is another trend in our American society of 2009 of making ridiculous rules, applying them to everyone and making people feel like failures, as a result! It was like the rule of having white people and black people drink from different water fountains, until somebody decided it wasn't a good rule. That’s how civil disobedience works: you decide first if the rule is a good one, and then you obey. You don’t automatically obey just because something is a rule- that’s what sheep do.

The Economy & Trends
Lisa said the stock market is about trends and it had a very good day today. She understands the market is important to a lot of people, but not for her anymore.

Lisa gave us some hard numbers about the economy.
There is a 1.3 Trillion dollar deficit doing on right now in our government! Incomprehensible!
There are 33 million people on food stamps.
There were 500 thousand people who filed for unemployment (first time claims) this week.
The real estate market is still at historic lows.

Lisa says she knows that right about now a lot of people's unemployment has run out and they cannot find new work. She said she hopes the economy is turning around, but is not yet convinced that it will. Lisa said she is not sure if we are being manipulated again by these numbers. Bottom line: In our real life, are we collecting a pay check? Are we able to pay our bills? Are we saving more now then we used to? Do we feel rich? Lisa quoted her father who says "the rich man is the man whose income exceeds his expenses"!

The SEC is settling a lot of old cases:

The SEC settled with Hank Greenburg, the head of AIG - for $15 million, which was like a drop in the bucket for him and he has avoided a fraud charge. Lisa said the SEC also tried to settle with the Bank of America yesterday, but the judge said 'not so fast'. They are forcing the SEC to defend itself, there will be a hearing this Monday.

Nurse of the year -- was no nurse!:
Lisa read about Norwalk's "nurse of the year", a story from the Drudgereport.
Betty Lichtenstein, 56, is accused of posing as a nurse at a hospital in Norwalk. She invented an organization and spent $2,000 to give herself a 'nurse of the year' award.

You Reap What You Sow- and then some
'Guy meets girl' on a web site for those looking to have extra-marital affairs:
Lisa said a guy met a girl on a web site for those seeking extra-marital affairs. He is a high-level financial person who has access to inside information on mergers and acquisitions. He decided, through e-mail and 7,000 phone calls over a two year period to the woman, that wanted to play internet games with her and gave her company patterns and made her guess what company he was talking about.
The woman is in debt, she took the information and started buying and selling stock. She ended up on the SEC watch list and got caught. Although the man didn't make a penny, Lisa says, he confided in someone he had no idea would make money off of the information he was providing. She testified against him, he was charged with insider training and went to jail. Lisa asked if this man is someone we should pay 30,000 to incarcerate. Is he a threat on the street? She said he should be financially fined and allowed to move on with his life.