Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (295495)	12/3/2010 5:16:56 PM
From: joseffy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

President Obama’s speechwriter makes anti-Catholic joke WDTPRS ^ \| December 3, 2010 \| Father Zuhlsdorf wdtprs.com OBAMA SPEECHWRITER’S IDEA OF COMEDY The winner at last night’s “Funniest Celebrity” competition in Washington D.C. was White House speechwriter Jon Lovett. In a quip he made about the TSA’s pat downs, he said, “it’s giving a way for, you know, defrocked priests to get their lives back together, giving back to the community, lend a…Well, not lend a hand, but you know.” Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds as follows: Had this been some flunky entertainer appearing in an urban comedy club, no one would blink an eye. But it is at least an interesting window into the mind of one of the speechwriters for the president of the United States: Jon Lovett could have chosen a million examples to poke fun at the TSA, so it is revealing that what he settled on was a former priest guilty of sexual molestation. This is an administration that has bent over backwards not to offend Muslims. Even in a comedic forum, it would never countenance a joke of this sort that targeted an imam. But for Catholic priests, the White House obviously has a different standard. [Does President Obama think that his staff can offend Catholics with impunity?] At the very least, Lovett should never be given an assignment ever again that touches on matters Catholic. And quite frankly, a statement by President Obama on this issue is entirely warranted. We can’t have one standard for Muslims and another for Catholics.

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (295495)	12/3/2010 5:56:11 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 306849

Chase orders Southlake bank to remove Christmas tree ............................................................ Thursday, Dec. 02, BY TERRY EVANS star-telegram.com SOUTHLAKE -- Chase Bank told a businessman to remove the Christmas tree he donated to a local branch because it could offend people. Antonio Morales, owner of Bellagio Day Spa in Southlake, had assembled and decorated a 9-foot-tall tree in the lobby of the Chase Bank branch at 1700 E. Southlake Boulevard as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients. The tree remained in the lobby from the Monday before Thanksgiving until Tuesday. Morales said his friend called him Wednesday to tell him the tree had to go. She later showed him an e-mail from JPMorgan Chase saying that the tree had to be removed because some people were offended by it. The bank referred questions to corporate offices. Greg Hassell, a JPMorgan Chase spokesman, said that the company's policy isn't anti-Christmas. "People wish their customers merry Christmas when it's appropriate," he said. However, to ensure that everyone who visits Chase branches feels welcome and comfortable, the bank's policy is to use only decorations supplied by the company. "We appreciate the thoughtful gesture from Mr. Morales," Hassell said. "Unfortunately, we're unable to keep it [the tree] on display for the remainder of the holiday season." JPMorgan Chase ensures that decorations are "something everyone is comfortable with, regardless of how they celebrate the season," Hassell said. But others see the tree as a symbol of the season. A spokeswoman at Trinity Bank in Fort Worth said it has had a tree in its lobby since the Friday after Thanksgiving. "I've been in this business more than 30 years, and every place I've worked we've put up a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving," said Linda Robertson, assistant vice president. Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the American Family Association, called Chase's decision absurd. "According to Advertising Age, 91 percent of American people celebrate Christmas," Fischer said. "That means that the single most inoffensive thing you can do at this time of year is wish someone a merry Christmas." Fischer said that companies that have gotten away from acknowledging Christmas claim that they do it because they want to be inclusive. "The most inclusive thing you can do is wish someone merry Christmas," he said. "This means that Chase is running the risk of offending far more people by disrespecting Christmas than they are by honoring it." Hassell said that the Southlake branch was supplied with stickers that resemble Christmas lights. Company-supplied decorations vary at other branches, he said. "Normally they're small, not intrusive. I'm not sure this [Morales'] Christmas tree was intrusive. That's not really the issue here. It isn't a company-supplied decoration." Hassell said the policy has been around for a few years, and that decorations change every year. Morales said that he enjoys the Christmas season so much that he decorated 35 trees at his home. "I'm known for my Christmas trees," he said. In fact, Morales shared his talent this season with his landlord, a plastic surgeon. "I put a tree up in his office," he said. "It doesn't offend him, and he's Jewish."

To: Jim McMannis who wrote (295495)	12/3/2010 6:13:16 PM
From: joseffy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Shocker. Democrats Give Rangel Standing Ovation at Censure You Tube Video; Congressional democrats give Former writer of US Tax Law and Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee Charlie Rangel, who didn't pay his taxes for 17 straight years, a standing ovation, after his censure by the US House of Representatives, and following his defiant speech wherein he "refuses to accept the judgement" of the Investigative commitee's conviction of him on 11 of 13 counts of wrongdoing for crimes that would surely land any of us in prison; youtube.com