Email to President Obama:

Mr. President –

I cannot believe that you plan to sign the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act. Have you completely forgotten the guarantees in the Bill of Rights?

Signing this bill into law, giving the US Government the right to unlimited secret detention of U.S. citizens on “suspicion” of terrorism is inviting totalitarianism. It violates the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution on its face.

Since 2008 I and many other progressives have been dismayed with the supine cowardice of the Democratic Party, and I will never bother to vote for you again.

What’s the point, when the man I voted for because of his perceived progressive leadership skills, lays down and sides with the Republicans for this kind of Fascist nonsense?

What’s even more dismaying to me is that Jason Chaffetz (R – Utah 3rd), a man with whom I disagree on just about everything, is the only member of the Utah delegation to vote to protect a person’s constitutional right to due process, the right to a trial by jury of one’s peers, and the right to habeus corpus. Even my own representative, Jim Matheson (D – Utah 2nd) voted to support this bill.

Mr. Obama, when the secret police eventually come for you after you are voted out of office next year, I suggest you surrender meekly. As a so-called Democrat, it seems you’ll have lot of practice doing that.

Similar email to Representative Jim Matheson (D – Utah):

Representative Matheson –

I cannot believe that you voted for HR-1540. Are you completely ignorant of the guarantees in the Bill of Rights?

Voting in favor of unlimited secret detention of U.S. citizens on “suspicion” of terrorism is inviting totalitarianism. It violates the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution on its face.

Since 2008 I and many other progressives have been dismayed with the supine cowardice of the Democratic Party, and I will never bother to vote for you again. What’s the point, when a majority, including you, vote for this kind of Stalinist nonsense?

What’s even more dismaying is that Jason Chaffetz, a man with whom I disagree on just about everything, is the only member of the Utah delegation to vote to protect a person’s constitutional right to due process, the right to a trial by jury of one’s peers, and the right to habeus corpus.

When the secret police come for you, I suggest you surrender meekly. As a so-called Democrat, it seems you’ll have lot of practice doing that.

The basis for the text of my emails was swiped from my old college pal Jeff in Oregon. The basis for my fear is real.

Funny to think that what Jello Biafra wrote in “We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now” from the December 1981 Dead Kennedy’s release In God We Trust, Inc. is even more true today, under a so-called progressive president:

Welcome to 1984
Are you ready for the third world war?!?
You too will meet the secret police
They’ll draft you and they’ll jail your niece

You’ll go quitely to boot camp
They’ll shoot you dead, make you a man
Don’t you worry, it’s for a cause
Feeding global corporations’ claws.

As is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” … it’s even inscribed in a plaque (in slightly altered form) in the Statue of Liberty.

Morgan Stanley staffers had a chance to catch up with CEO and President James Gorman at a firm wide meeting Monday. On the top of their minds: pay.

The New York investment bank told employees Friday what their bonuses would be, and the early reaction among many was disappointment.

Staffers in the investment banking and trading unit, for example, were miffed that their pay was down by 2% this year, despite a 27% bump in revenue. For some employees, the bonus cuts were deeper, 10% to 25%, to make up for new staff hired to turn around Morgan Stanley’s lagging fixed-income trading unit.

Adding to the confusion was a headline number for per-employee compensation, which showed a 7.5% increase firmwide to $256,600, from about $238,600 in compensation for each employee in 2009.

But that statistic doesn’t take into account the fact that Morgan Stanley added more than 20,000 employees about five months through 2009 through its brokerage joint venture with Citigroup’s Smith Barney. That new army of employees didn’t collect compensation at Morgan Stanley for the first part of 2009, but did for all of 2010, leading to a higher compensation figure overall.

After adjusting for the surge in employees, the compensation figure would have been down about 3% instead of up 7%, Gorman explained to employees, according to one attendee.

Since compensation is always a hot topic in January, Gorman answered some questions pre-emptively, including why the firm paid out a higher percentage of employee’s bonuses in restricted stock and other deferred pay vehicles that employees can’t touch for awhile. (The firm increased the average amount of year-end compensation subject to such deferrals to 60% in 2010 from 40% in 2009. For senior executives, the figure rose to more than 80% from 75%.)

It was important to show “discipline” in aligning employees’ pay with shareholders at a time when regulators have been focusing on higher deferrals, the CEO explained. As for the lower amounts, he told employees that the firm needs to “show consistent performance” and further raise revenue in order to see a rebound in pay.

via Morgan Stanley CEO Tackles Staffers’ Pay Gripes – Deal Journal – WSJ.

• Despite claims that their network is more robust, Verizon hasn’t proven that their 3G network can handle the substantially increased data volume that iPhone users will bring. On the bright side, as AT&T customers abandon AT&T and buy new Verizon iPhones, the strain on AT&T’s network will lessen, thus improving the user experience for those who stick around.
• Verizon’s CDMA network may be “more robust” than AT&T’s network, but AT&T’s network is still faster, and I’m not ready for life in the slow lane.
• Verizon’s CDMA network will not support data access during a phone call, like AT&T’s 3G GSM network.
• Verizon’s CDMA network does not use SIM cards, building the phone coding directly into the phone, AND since most of the world is on GSM rather than CDMA, the Verizon iPhone is will not be anywhere near as capable a handset for frequent travellers like the AT&T version.
• Apple will be releasing a new version of the iPhone for AT&T mid-year, just as they have every year since the iPhone was first introduced in 2007. Whether it’s an incremental upgrade, like the leap from the original iPhone to the 3G or from the 3GS to the iPhone 4, or simply a minor upgrade (faster network, more memory, faster chips), like the upgrade from the 3G to the 3Gs has yet to be announced … but there will be something, and people who sign up for the Verizon iPhone now are going to be stuck 5 months into a two-year contract, unless they decide to pay full pop for the latest and greated, assuming whatever is released is available simultaneously on both AT&T and Verizon’s networks.

I will be definitely be thankful to all iPhone users who do jump to Verizon for helping to take some of the load off AT&T’s network … some sources say 25% will make the leap … but that reduction will definitely help me. You can jump, I’m staying where I am.

Many of the Motors Liquidation Company bond claims are being administered by Wilmington Trust; other outstanding bonds may be adminsistered by other trustees.

According to Wilmington Trust:

Shortly after GM filed for bankruptcy, it sold substantially all of its assets to a newly formed company (NewCo) pursuant to Bankruptcy Court authorization. In exchange for the sale of its assets, GM received, among other compensation, 50 million shares of the common stock of NewCo and warrants to acquire 90.9 million additional shares of NewCo common stock. Following this sale, GM changed its name to “Motors Liquidation Company” and NewCo changed its name to “General Motors Company.” As a result of the sale transaction and the subsequent name changes, bondholders of former “General Motors Corporation” are now bondholders of Motors Liquidation Company, whose primary assets are the stock and warrants in General Motors Company received in the sale transaction.

Bondholders of Motors Liquidation Company can generally expect to receive common stock and warrants in General Motors Company on account of their bonds, rather than cash, as the stock and warrants represent substantially all of the remaining assets of Motors Liquidation Company. The number of shares of common stock and warrants each bondholder will receive is currently unknown. This uncertainty is due to the fact that the number of holders of allowed claims against Motors Liquidation Company, and the size of such allowed claims, is currently unknown. On November 29, 2009, all holders of claims against Motors Liquidation Company were required to file formal “proofs of claim” as a prerequisite to receiving a share of the Motors Liquidation Company estate. A large number of potential claimants filed such proofs of claim, and Motors Liquidation Company is currently in the process of determining the proper number and amount of allowed claims.

Ultimately, the distribution of stock and warrants to claimholders (including bondholders) will be performed pursuant to a plan of liquidation that will be subject to Bankruptcy Court review and approval. The plan of liquidation will serve as the instructions for such distributions on a go forward basis. On August 31, 2010, Motors Liquidation Company filed a plan of liquidation and disclosure statement with the Bankruptcy Court. The proposed treatment for holders of general unsecured claims, including bondholders, is described in Section 4.3 of the plan. The plan has not been approved by the Bankruptcy Court. On October 21, 2010, the Bankruptcy Court conditionally approved the disclosure statement pending certain revisions and additional disclosures. To date, however, Motors Liquidation Company has not filed a revised version of the disclosure statement and final Bankruptcy Court approval is still pending. Copies of the plan and disclosure statement are available on the section of this website entitled “Plan and Disclosure Statement.” Wilmington Trust Company will provide additional information related to the plan of liquidation when it becomes available.

via Wilmington Trust | General Motors Bondholders | Home.

According to Motors Liquidation Company’s Investor FAQ:

When will unsecured bondholders be provided with their equity in the new GM?

As part of the consideration for the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of the old General Motors Corporation, 10% equity in the new GM, as well as warrants for an additional 15%, will be provided to Motors Liquidation Company which is still in Chapter 11. Distribution of this equity to unsecured bondholders and other claim holders will be determined through the court process and will not occur until a plan of reorganization is submitted, accepted and implemented. It is too early to tell how long this may take.

via https://motorsliquidation.com/FAQDocument-Download.aspx?Document=3

This is public information. This is reality. So please don’t argue with me when I tell you that you will not be immediately receiving shares in the new GM in exchange for your old bonds; and that you definitely will not be getting 50 shares of new GM stock (current value $1709.50) for every $1000 bond which you are currently holding, especially when you take into consideration that the current market price for said bonds is about 35-cents on the dollar. This means that people who know a whole lot more than you do feel that the recovery on the bonds through the bankruptcy process will be substantially less than face value, not substantially more.

I don’t know where you got that number, but it has absolutely no basis in reality.

I’m sorry that you made a bad investment and that you will end up losing a substantial portion of your money, but that’s no reason for you to take out your frustrations on me.

I didn’t cause GM to fail; GM’s business practices over the decades prior to their bankruptcy, combined with the poor economy (and associated job losses) brought on by (primarily) the collapse of the housing bubble and freezing of the credit markets carry that responsibility.

Thank you.