University of Iowa TAs give us their Opinion

I’m going to let the video speak for itself.

AIG v Obama and the rest of the Nation

American International Group recently gave $165 million to the executives and board members who helped ruin the company and in turn the national economy. Now, I may not know much about economics, but I do know that it really pisses people off when the money that is supposed to go towards them and the other people who really need it never makes it to them. I also know that AIG had previous contracts that they were legally obligated to follow.

This is where it gets a little tricky. Obama and other members of government helped write the bill that would give billions of dollars of bailout money to companies. They DID NOT write a segment to this bill that would stipulate that previous contracts regarding retirement or leaving the company would be void or capped at a certain level. There was nothing said about this in the bill. And so, it did not happen. Nothing was said, and so nothing was enforced. Government officials argue that it would have led to AIG suing the US Government for interfering with a contractual agreement. Seeing as the US Government folded, it appears that AIG would have won the case and would have paid those people anyway.

Obama takes the blame. He wanted it. I’m not saying this to be viewed as a republican or a conservative. I actually view myself as having very moderate views that lie slightly liberal. That said, Obama is still responsible, and he really did assume that responsibility himself in a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa California.

We didn’t draft these contracts. We’ve got a lot on our plate. But it is appropriate when you’re in charge to make sure stuff doesn’t happen like this, – President Obama

Regardless of whom is to blame, members of AIG are catching flak from all sides. Armed guards were even posted outside of the building to ensure safety. They are seeing cuts left and right, just to figure this whole thing out.

Now the name of this blog is Shamelessly Opinionated, and even though I have shown both sides of the argument, I am now going to do my job. This is an outrage. We the taxpayer deserve to not be lied to. My money that I made working very hard, was supposed to go to flood victims, victims of other natural disasters, people that have been utterly screwed by the economy and/or the government, and finally to help the economy get back on it’s feet. I did vote for Obama and I am not embarrassed and I do not regret it. He is being responsible and taking the blame. Something I don’t see very many other people, especially politicians, doing theses days. I know that there will be a lot of people who are going to hat what I say, so be it, write a comment, vent, and get over it. I as a citizen of this country just hope that something like this will not happen again. While AIG is worrying about paying the rest of their bills, we as a nation have something else to worry about — the economy as a whole.

The Sound of Light

Mike Tracy, Adam Novak, Cody Wittt, Ryan Loftsgaarden

Their name, VitalLight. Coined by the band’s Lyricist Adam Novak, was chosen because Adam wanted something to reflect how important and fulfilling music is to his total existence. His passion shows. These guys have been around since 2007, they are from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and they bring a sound that is so fresh and new to our ears that it makes us think that we are hearing the legends of the past. Every instrument in the song Electric Voice has a purpose and is equally heard. This is not a band that is driven by lyrics or a voice, but as a collective unit. A single sound.

I found their album Turn On to truly be a just that. I hit play and escaped into the music. I did notice one thing however, the songs seemed to bleed into each other. At first I just thought that maybe they were produced well enough to where they did that on purpose. Maybe the entire album was just supposed to be one fluid experience for my ears. Or maybe its the fact that nearly every song in this seven song set EP were so similar that I didn’t notice that I was listening to a different song.

That doesn’t stand to say that the music was bad at all, God no. The music was great I just wish they had a little more diversity between the overall sound of the songs. As is the case with Electric Voice, the songs on the Turn On EP were strengthened by phenomenal musicology. The synthetics and the sounds of the actual instruments were very well recorded. And even if the EP did turn into one thirty-four minute long song, it was the equivalent to having an audio orgasm.

Three of the bands members are alumni of Linn-Mar High School. They sang in choir, played in marching band, jazz band, and even for the school’s varsity show choir 10th Street Edition. In their time at that institution, the school had a burst of prosperity. Awards were won in every musical department and extra-curriculum. Linn-Mar’s loss was assuredly the world’s gain.