A Twinge of Jealousy

I am growing older, and probably more obscene & wicked in my ages and devinances. I am unsure of many things but I do KNOW THIS is horse-shit!

1. I AM doing student teaching, or at least I 'think' I am. I shall be meeting with the asswipes from my fucked-up university and submitting myself to 15 GODDAMNED weeks of asenine repetition, as if I don't fucking know what it's like to be a teacher, in a class all day, or with the variety of kids from normal & pansy to deranged & violent!

They're not gonna fuckin' scare me but they ARE gonna bore the ungodly shit out of me!

Miley Cyrus was just made a million-dollar book deal, because all the teens know SO fuckin' much about life as to fill a book with the wisdom of life.

After all, Miley is 16. Isn't that a statement of brilliance?

Rush Limbaugh is getting a bonus, plus $38 million dollars a YEAR, and he stated, "I didn't finish college"; yet I shall be completing my degree and working the rest of my fuckin life to pay off my $40,000 in school loans. I won't ever actually afford to be married or to get fuckin' laid or even have a drink again.

I wish I were more apt to suicide and could just raze the shitty university. THEY SUCK DONKEY DICKS AND THE SWEAT FROM A DEAD MANS' BALLS!!!

I hate my life, my fears and my needs.

I should not be sad or angry - just comfortable. I should be able to call someone ... say "Come visit me in Texas and I'll do all the wicked things we discuss on the phone or in cyber-chats/sex when we're alone."

I should not be wondering where my next meal will come from or how I'll reach Decembers' rent deadline.

I am going to be a fuckin' slave.

A slave to the grind.

When I was kicked out of the Marine's in 1986 I was told I'd be taking a bus back to Texas. I was at the Greyhound station in San Diego, California. I bought some porno magazines, hoping to jack-off and have an orgasm that I hadn't had since I arrived. (Yes, I was still a virgin! So fuckin' sad!) I was tempted to call my parents, cash in my bus ticket, and stay. I don't know if a bus ticket can be cashed in like a plane ticket, so I came home to Texas on a long, dull three-day ride that stopped in San Antonio at 8:00 am with no money in my pocket and the sadness of my
heart and failure that has never left me.

Teens write to embellish their lives and resume, loudmouthes keep fanning the fuckin' flames, and I am watching the Big-3 Automakers beg Congress for a bailout of their own debts. After all it takes a LOT of money from others to keep their corporate jets flying.

~sigh!~

Adios for now ...



Julian




Miley Cyrus Signs Seven-Figure Book Deal
By Ulrica Wihlborg - Originally posted Tuesday April 22, 2008 03:25 PM EDT

Miley Cyrus has signed a seven-figure book deal with Disney Book Group, the teen star's publisher announced Tuesday.

The book will focus on the 15-year-old's road to fame, from growing up in Tennessee to navigating the spotlight as an international star, and how her family – especially mother Leticia – helps keep her grounded. According to Disney, the book will feature never-before-seen photos, family stories and a look at the star's inner circle.

"I am so excited to let fans in on how important my relationship with my family is to me," Cyrus said. "I hope to motivate mothers and daughters to build lifetimes of memories together, and inspire kids around the world to live their dreams."

Publication is scheduled in spring 2009, to coincide with the premiere of the Hannah Montana feature movie.


http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20194112,00.html

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Rush to Judgment
by Sophia Banay
Jul 10 2008

Rush Limbaugh's new contract may be as big as his mouth, but the deal reveals some hard truths about the radio business.

Rush Limbaugh's reported mammoth, eight-year, $38 million-per contract with Clear Channel has quickly sparked two very different reactions: It's given hope to a bloodied radio industry and simultaneously angered legions of talk-show hosts who aren't making enough to buy entire emerging-market nations.

But news of the contract "is a great affirmation by Premiere"—Premiere Radio Networks syndicates The Rush Limbaugh Show—"and by the advertisers that there's great reach still in radio," argues Jeff Haley, chief executive of the Radio Advertising Bureau.

That "great affirmation" comes as ad revenue evaporates and audiences vanish. Annual revenue for radio has been spiraling. In 2007, overall revenue for the U.S. radio industry declined 2 percent, to $21.3 million, from the year before, wiping out meager 1 percent gains in 2006.

Haley says (surely with fingers and toes crossed, and eyes fixated on heaven) that podcasts and streaming internet broadcasts will likely be incorporated into Limbaugh's new contract, as Clear Channel and its ilk struggle to capture and retain tech-savvy listeners, bored with the standard radio box. And as that evolution takes place and the medium modernizes, "it's only natural that these strong franchises," like Limbaugh's, "will expand," he says.

Limbaugh himself is a complete stranger to audience woes. He claims to have 20 million listeners (other industry analysts peg it at closer to 14 million), and he's available on the AM dial, readily accessible to anyone with a bare-bones radio and a tolerance for ads, no subscription necessary. His bombastic personality and conservative views have paved the way for the likes of Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. And the new contract marks him as central to the success of Premiere's business plan.

Despite that, the contract may serve as a mixed blessing to the rank and file of the radio industry as a whole. Sure, it’s a vote of confidence for the viability of radio as a successful medium for ads. Sure, it offers some glimmer of hope to aspiring talk-radio hosts.

More immediately however, it is causing untold frustration among other up-and-coming hosts. Michael Harrison, editor of radio industry trade publication Talkers magazine, says many have called him in frustration to complain that they aren't making enough.

Another high-profile radio personality, Howard Stern, made headlines four years ago after signing a reported $100-million-a-year contract with the subscription-only Sirius Satellite Radio. That arrangement, too, was based on capitalizing on emerging technology to garner new listeners, but has had mixed results so far: Stern has failed to drum up an audience bigger than somewhere in the estimated "single-digit millions" for his channel, according to Harrison.

Still, Sirius's investment in Stern was a wise one, he says. The star brought the fledgling company significant notoriety and can be expected to build a more solid audience given time now that Sirius has merged with rival XM.

Amid the fuss, it's worth remembering that the contract's financial details were revealed by Limbaugh himself, hardly an impartial source, in a profile in the New York Times Magazine. The deal is reported to be worth $400 million over eight years, not including a nine-figure signing bonus. But none of this has been confirmed by Premiere. And, like any contract, Limbaugh's is no doubt peppered with protective clauses and contingency plans to shelter the company signing the checks.

The host is "going to have to continue to do a heck of a job for that figure to come to fruition," says Harrison, in terms of ratings, revenue, and other performance metrics. Premiere will likely expect revenue growth to at least keep pace with the cost of living, say 3 percent a year—and ratings goals will reflect similarly high expectations.

Still, if the contract numbers are real, they may be justified. In radio, "there's a powerful personal connection that happens. That's what drives Rush's reach and the valuation of his programming," says Haley. "The new contract will absolutely pay off."


http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/07/10/Rush-Limbaughs-New-Radio-Contract

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Does anyone really need this much money for this much crap? Well ... maybe these guys:


http://www.sodahead.com/question/191189/gm-chrysler-ford-should-they-be-left-for-dead/

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Carmakers' bailout pleas hit Senate skepticism
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Associated Press Writer - 36 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Desperate U.S. automakers ran into fresh obstacles from skeptical lawmakers Thursday as they appealed with rising urgency — and a new dose of humility — for a $34 billion bailout. Without help, said one senator, "we're looking at a death sentence."

With lawmakers in both parties pressing the automakers to consider a pre-negotiated bankruptcy — something they have consistently shunned — the Big Three were contemplating a government-run restructuring that could yield results similar to bankruptcy, including massive downsizing, in return for the bailout billions. But there was no assurance they could get even that.

And that wasn't all the unwelcome news. Congressional officials said one leading proposal — to tap an already approved fund set aside for making cars environmentally efficient — wouldn't give the carmakers nearly as much money as they say they need.

The auto executives pleaded with lawmakers at a contentious Capitol Hill hearing — their second round in less than a month — for emergency aid before year's end. But with time running out on the current Congress, skepticism about the bailout appeared to be as strong as ever.

"In all due respect, folks, I don't think there's faith that the next ... three months will work out, given the past history," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.

"No thinking person thinks that all three companies can survive," said Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.

Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, was the senator who spoke of a death sentence — though he also said, "We're not going to leave town without trying" to help.

The auto executives are to make their case at a House hearing on Friday, and Congress could take up rescue legislation next week in an emergency session.

But Democratic congressional leaders were leaning on the White House to act on its own. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote to President George W. Bush on Thursday asking him, as they have repeatedly, to use the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund to help the auto makers — something the administration has consistently refused to do. They argued that such a course was justified because of the potential for grave harm to the financial sector in the event of a carmaker collapse.

Auto state lawmakers went further, threatening to block the administration's access to the second half of the financial bailout fund unless it made "a firm commitment to assist working Americans and save American jobs."

The clear implication was that no more Wall Street aid would be available without help for the Big Three.

"I think they'll read between the lines," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., who teamed with Democratic Rep. John Dingell, also of Michigan, in a letter to colleagues outlining their position.

Under legislation enacted in October creating the financial industry rescue program, Congress can vote to block the Treasury Department from accessing the second $350 billion, although it would need a two-thirds supermajority to do so over a presidential veto.

Bush, too, voiced skepticism about an auto rescue package.

"No matter how important the autos are to our economy, we don't want to put good money after bad. In other words, we want to make sure that the plan they develop is one that ensures their long-term viability for the sake of the taxpayer," he said in an interview with NBC News.

President-elect Barack Obama was keeping his distance, prompting Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who has been dealing with both the financial bailout and the auto rescue proposal to say Obama is "going to have to be more assertive than he's been." Frank is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which will conduct Friday's hearing.

Repentant after a botched first crack at bailout pleas, the executives from General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC all agreed during Thursday's session that a multibillion-dollar bailout deal would include a supervisory government board that could order major overhauls of the companies if deemed necessary for survival.

United Auto Workers union President Ron Gettelfinger, aligned with the industry in pressing for the aid warned that without action by Congress: "I believe we could lose General Motors by the end of this month." He said the situation was dire and time was of the essence.

The Big Three CEOs apologized for past blunders. "We made mistakes, which we're learning from," GM chief Rick Wagoner said. Ford CEO Alan Mulally also acknowledged missteps, saying his company's approach once was "If you build it, they will come."

But as a result of the misjudgments, he said, "we are really focused."

The Bush administration wants the aid to be drawn from an existing $25 billion program to help the industry retool its plants to make their vehicles more fuel-efficient.

But congressional budget analysts said Thursday that would yield only $7.5 billion in short-term loans.

The auto executives made the trip from Detroit in new-model hybrid autos made by their respective companies, two weeks after a first appeal for $25 billion in which they were chided for flying on private jets to beg for money.

Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli promised that his company, recipient of a previous government-subsidized rescue loan in the 1970s that it repaid, would reimburse taxpayers by 2012 this time and would devote itself to manufacturing "fuel-efficient cars and trucks that people want to buy."

Asked whether the carmakers would agree to a setup like the one established for Chrysler's 1979 bailout, with a federal restructuring trustee who had some of the same powers as a bankruptcy court, all three executives indicated they would. Ford's Mulally added, "I probably need to think about that a little bit. It sounds right, but I just don't know all of the implications."

Lawmakers still complained of sticker shock, noting that the bailout's price tag had jumped $9 billion since the trio last appeared.

Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the senior Republican on the Banking Committee, pressed the automakers to explain why, and explain how the sum would not simply "prop up a failed business model for a few months ... and how are you going to pay it back?"

Democrats, too, questioned whether an auto bailout would amount to investing taxpayer money in a failing enterprise.

"Be honest and tell me ... just tell me if things stay the way they are now, are you going to be back in a year" asking for more money? asked Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

Protesters who briefly interrupted the hearing were a reminder of what polls show is thin public support for a rescue. "The bailout is a sellout!" demonstrators chanted as they were escorted from the hearing room by police.

Gene L. Dodaro, the top official at Congress' watchdog agency — the Government Accountability Office — agreed with Dodd that the financial industry rescue fund set up in October "is worded broadly enough" to permit it to be tapped for the automakers.

Dodaro testified that the Federal Reserve also has the authority under existing law to make loans to the domestic auto industry if it so chooses.

Dodd said that both Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had been invited to testify at Thursday's hearing but had declined. He later criticized the treasury chief for traveling to China at a time of economic peril in the U.S.

"Time to come home — we have a serious problem here," Dodd said. "I need the Federal Reserve to step up as well."

Though the current total request is $34 billion, Ford's proposal says it might have to come back with a second request for an additional $4 billion if the recession persists into 2010, raising the total even higher.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Tom Raum contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_go_co/congress_autos