Riddle Me This, AIG
We are a nation of laws, and we honor contracts.
Yep, sure. Most of the times. And that appears to be the sole argument over why something hasn’t been done to prohibit or have returned the obscene sum of moneys given out to leaders of a miserably failing company.
That argument just doesn’t hold weight with me.
What about those private contracts for airline employees? In bailing out that industry the government had no problem setting up a pension board that stripped money from retirees. If that’s not re-writing a contract, what is? Oh wait – that’s because the airline said that needed to do that to stay afloat. Right. . . .
Well, what about when a individual files for bankruptcy protection? Re-negotiation of contracts occurs, and sometimes, depending on timing and circumstances, contracts are declared voidable. Isn’t that, in essence, a re-writing of the contract?
Why is it that the only contracts that can’t be re-written, or someone found voidable, are those in this failing financial industry.
I’m not an economist by any means, but it seems like all businesses and individuals in bail out or bankruptcy situations should have to face the same music. And that means contracts are going to be scrutinized, and possible voided.
Why are we accepting anything less?
Photo: SXC
Death Sucks!
There was a time in my life when I had never been to a funeral. I knew what death was all about, but I’d only had to face it in the abstract.
First there was the period where it was my grandparent’s, then parent’s, generation that was the cause of all the funerals. It was sad, often tragic, but it was a part of the understandable circle of life. People get old and then die. It’s the way things are supposed to work.
Then one day, death hit my generation.
All of a sudden it wasn’t about distant relatives or “old” people. Death struck people I knew. People that were only a few years older than me, and on some occasions, even younger. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair. Death sucks!
I’m grieving right now for a friend who had a massive heart attack and left us suddenly. He leaves behind a wonderfully charming and beautiful wife, along with a son and grandchild. His sudden passing leaves a hole in a circle of friends that will never be quite the same again.
Unfortunately, I’m going to need to travel this path again – and I fear it will be in the near future. Death has met my generation, and is apparently making really good friends with it. No matter how I try, I can only keep it away temporarily.
I’m trying to be strong, to be a good friend, to be supportive, and to keep memories in a happy heart. But death really sucks!
Image credit: SXC
Reading: Three Cups of Tea
I’m currently reading Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, the story of Greg Mortenson’s unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world’s second tallest mountain.
Mortenson’s story reinforces my belief that out of every failure can come a success, and is part travel book and part inspirational story.
As he was finishing his unsuccessful attempt at K2, Mortenson fell quite ill, and was sheltered and cared for in Korphe, a small and rather primitive village in Pakistan. After he recovered, he promised to return and build a school for the village. The story of the struggles to make the school a reality is a fascinating story of life, politics, culture, and the personal stories of the people in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The title of the book is based on a Baltistan proverb:
The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family.
The school project has evolved into a foundation called the Central Asia Institute, responsible for 50 additional schools in the area. I’m only about half way through the book, and the first school hasn’t yet been built, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the story goes from here to there.
It’s a great read, and you can find it on Amazon in hardback, paperback, and in a Kindle edition.
Image credit: Amazon