Obillionaire's Friends Scratch His Back And He Scratches Their Backs

According to the story below the kind owners of a couple of ski resorts put up their shack for Michelle, family and friends for a few days.

Michelle Obama, daughters on Aspen ski vacation

According to the Aspen Daily News, which first reported the news, the family is staying at the home of Jim and Paula Crown, who own and operate four ski mountain resorts. The paper also reported that the first family is skiing Saturday at Buttermilk, one of the Crown's mountain resorts that caters to beginners and families.

If you have a few resorts, even for beginners and families, you have money to cover the mortgage, but to say that Jim and Paula Crown own a few resorts is like saying David Rockefeller owns a nice beetle collection.

It appears that Jimmy and Paula have a bit more than beginner and family ski resorts. Oh, they also own a lot of influence over government.

James Schine Crown (born June 25, 1953)^[1] is an American businessman. He is president of Henry Crown and Company, a private investment company. He is a director of JPMorgan Chase & Co., General Dynamics and Sara Lee as well as being the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the University of Chicago. A member of Chicago's Crown family, James' father is billionaire Lester Crown. He earned his BA from Hampshire College in 1976 and his law degree from Stanford in 1980. It is believed his family holds ownership in the following companies: Aspen Skiing Company.

Aspen Institute

James Schine Crown

Department:

Board of Trustees

Biography

James Schine Crown is President of Henry Crown and Company, a privately owned investment company which invests in public and private securities, real estate and operating companies. He is a director of General Dynamics Corporation, JPMorgan Chase and Sara Lee Corporation. Mr. Crown is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago.  He is also a trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry and the Orchestral Association.
Jim Crown was born in Chicago in 1953, the son of Lester and Renée (Schine) Crown. Mr. Crown earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1976 from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He received his law degree in 1980 from Stanford Law School, where he was projects editor of the Stanford Law Review and a member of the Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation.
Upon graduating, Mr. Crown joined Salomon Brothers Inc, in New York City, as an associate. He became a vice president of the Capital Markets Service Group in January 1983. In April 1985 he returned to Chicago to join his family's investment firm.
Mr. Crown is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association. Mr. Crown has been married to the former Paula Hannaway since 1985. She was also a vice president of Salomon Brothers, and is currently working at Henry Crown and Company. Mrs. Crown is a Trustee of the Children's Memorial Medical Center, Conservation International, the Museum of Modern Art, the Aspen Music Festival, Duke University, the Latin School of Chicago, Vice Chair of the Board of High Jump and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Chicago Community Trust. She is on the Board of Advisors of Nasher Museum of Art and serves on the Women's Boards of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the University of Chicago.  They have four children.

James S. Crown

Independent Director

JP Morgan Chase & Co

New York ,  NY

Sector: FINANCIAL  /  Money Center Banks

Lead Independent Director ,  Sara Lee Corporation

Downers Grove ,  IL

Sector: CONSUMER GOODS  /  Processed & Packaged Goods

Officer since January 2010

Independent Director ,  General Dynamics

Falls Church ,  VA

Sector: INDUSTRIAL GOODS  /  Aerospace/Defense Products & Services

57 Years Old

Mr. Crown joined Henry Crown and Company, a privately owned investment company which invests in public and private securities, real estate and operating companies, in 1985 as Vice President and became President in 2003. Mr. Crown is a director of General Dynamics Corporation (since 1987) and of Sara Lee Corporation (since 1998). Mr. Crown graduated from Hampshire College in 1976 and received his law degree from Stanford University Law School in 1980. Following law school, Mr. Crown joined Salomon Brothers Inc. and became a vice president of the Capital Markets Service Group in 1983. In 1985 he joined his family?s investment firm. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the University of Chicago Medical Center and a Trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry, The Aspen Institute, the University of Chicago and of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Forbes Rankings

General Dynamics - 181st on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2010

JPMorgan Chase - 1st on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2010

Sara Lee - 597th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2010

General Dynamics Forbes 400 Best Big Companies in 2009

General Dynamics - 204th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2009

See All Rankings >

Director Compensation (JP Morgan Chase & Co) for 2009

Fees earned or paid in cash	$90,000.00
Stock awards	$170,000.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$0.00
Total Compensation	$260,000.00

Director Compensation (JP Morgan Chase & Co) for 2008

Fees earned or paid in cash	$90,000.00
Stock awards	$170,000.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$0.00
Total Compensation	$260,000.00

Director Compensation (JP Morgan Chase & Co) for 2007

Fees earned or paid in cash	$90,000.00
Stock awards	$170,000.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$0.00
Total Compensation	$260,000.00

Director Compensation (JP Morgan Chase & Co) for 2006

Fees earned or paid in cash	$90,000.00
Stock awards	$264,532.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$0.00
Total Compensation	$354,532.00

Director Compensation (JP Morgan Chase & Co) for 2005

Fees earned or paid in cash	$90,000.00
Stock awards	$170,000.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$0.00
Total Compensation	$260,000.00

Director Compensation (Sara Lee Corporation) for 2010

Fees earned or paid in cash	$92,500.00
Stock awards	$137,511.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$0.00
Total Compensation	$230,011.00

Director Compensation (Sara Lee Corporation) for 2009

Fees earned or paid in cash	$86,250.00
Stock awards	$131,281.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$5,000.00
Total Compensation	$222,531.00

Director Compensation (Sara Lee Corporation) for 2008

Fees earned or paid in cash	$80,000.00
Stock awards	$102,529.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$10,303.00
Total Compensation	$192,832.00

Director Compensation (Sara Lee Corporation) for 2007

Fees earned or paid in cash	$81,875.00
Stock awards	$82,766.00
Option awards (in $)	$0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$20,000.00
Total Compensation	$184,641.00

Director Compensation (General Dynamics) for 2010

Fees earned or paid in cash	$163,167.00
Stock awards	$40,420.00
Option awards (in $)	$81,258.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$2,140.00
Total Compensation	$286,985.00

Director Compensation (General Dynamics) for 2008

Fees earned or paid in cash	$129,750.00
Stock awards	$47,930.00
Option awards (in $)	$69,829.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$2,164.00
Total Compensation	$249,673.00

Director Compensation (General Dynamics) for 2007

Fees earned or paid in cash	$122,250.00
Stock awards	$40,438.00
Option awards (in $)	$60,387.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$2,189.00
Total Compensation	$225,264.00

Director Compensation (General Dynamics) for 2006

Fees earned or paid in cash	$95,000.00
Stock awards	$16,842.00
Option awards (in $)	$45,629.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation	$0.00
Change in pension value and nondisqualified compensation earnings	$0.00
All other compensation	$2,189.00
Total Compensation	$159,660.00

Good for them to be so successful They can only influence those that will be influenced and I think it’s pretty clear who they know they can.

Obama: Switch Hitter

With the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt the probability of them attacking our best ally, Israel,  becomes more probable. So, why not arm a radicalized Egypt with better weapons of war?

M-1A1 Abrams To Be Sold To The Muslim Brotherhood

I once headed up a corporation that sold goods to Egypt, a then Egypt exponentially more sane, and we had to stencil the sides of each crate with an images of an axe and a bloody severed hand to deter thieves once the product arrived in Egypt. Did wonders for our marketing. We also sold to Israel where there was little chance of theft and we didn't have to use graphic imagery because Israeli workers could read.

So, the Arab Spring of Obama will now be able to spring an attack on our ally using weapons from us. The switch hitting logic is astounding. And naive, but then that is the administration we have.

Michelle Antoinette: Surfing Onto Skiing

It's tough fighting for middle class values.

Martini anyone?

Key

Mooses Hunting

This actually happened with some guys from Maine.  They dressed the truck up with the dummy spread-eagle on the roof of the truck.  The driver and passengers put on moose heads. Down the Maine Toll Interstate they went, causing about 16 accidents.  They went to jail. (Some cops have no sense of humor.)

Hey Obama, Where Are The Jobs?

Obama's Amercariture: $5 Gas And You Will Like It

Obama says the recent modest increase in domestic production is proof he's not anti-oil. But this happened despite his policies, not because of them — largely the result of drilling permits issued under Clinton and Bush, and the oil boom on private lands in North Dakota.

Whenever Obama has had the chance to encourage production, he's done the opposite:

• He needlessly halted Gulf drilling permits after the BP oil spill, and continues to slow-walk them. Permit approvals are less than half their pre-Obama average, and approval times have nearly doubled.

• Obama scuttled the 700,000-barrels-a-day Keystone XL pipeline, despite approval by the State Department after an exhaustive three-year review.

• And he endlessly demonizes oil companies while pushing to sharply raise their taxes.

The truth is that for Obama, low gas prices are the problem, since they would hamper progress toward his "green" Nirvana, where we all hop on government trains and putter around in government-approved electric cars. It's just that he's smart enough not to say this out loud.

And since you will like this so much Obama will gouge you on home heating and cooling costs as well. Please remember your thank-yous this November.

Rebirth of Soviet Destroyed St Michael's Of Kiev

Reconstructed Saint Michael's of Kiev.

St.Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery 

During the first half of the 1930s, various Soviet publications questioned the known historical facts regarding the age of the Cathedral. The publications stressed that the medieval building had undergone major reconstructions and that little of the original Byzantine-style cathedral was preserved. This wave of questioning led to the demolition of the monastery and its replacement with a new administrative centre for the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (previously located in the city of Kharkiv). Before its demolition (June 8–July 9, 1934), the structure was carefully studied by T.M. Movchanivskyi and K. Honcharev from the recently purged and re-organized Institute of Material Culture of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. On the basis of their survey, the cathedral was declared to belong primarily to the Ukrainian Baroque style, rather than to the twelfth century as was previously thought, and thus did not merit preservation due to its lack of historical and artistic value. This conclusion backed up the Soviet authorities' plans to demolish the entire monastery. Local historians, archaeologists, and architects agreed to the monastery's demolition, although reluctantly. Only one professor, Mykola Makarenko, refused to sign the demolition act; he later died in a Soviet prison.

On June 26, 1934, work began on the removal of the twelfth century Byzantine mosaics. It was conducted by the Mosaic Section of the Leningrad Academy of Fine Arts. Specialists were forced to work in haste on account of the impending demolition and were thus unable to complete the entire project. Despite the care and attention shown during the removal of the mosaics from the cathedral's walls, the relocated mosaics cannot be relied upon as being absolutely authentic.

The remaining mosaics, covering an area of 45 square metres (485 sq ft), were partitioned between the State Hermitage Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, and the State Russian Museum. The other remaining mosaics were installed on the second floor of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, where they were not on display for tourists. Those items that remained in Kiev were seized by the Nazis during World War II and taken to Germany. After the war ended, they fell into American hands and were later returned to Moscow.

During the spring of 1935, the golden domes of the monastery were pulled down. The cathedral's silver royal gates, Mazepa's reliquary (weighing two poods of silver) and other valuables were sold abroad or simply destroyed. Master Hryhoryi's five-tier iconostasis was removed (and later destroyed) from the cathedral as well. St. Barbara's relics were transferred to the Church of the Tithes and upon that church's demolition, to the St Volodymyr's Cathedral in 1961.

During the spring-summer period of 1936, the shell of the cathedral and belltower were blown up with dynamite. The monastery's Economic Gate (Ekonomichna Brama) and the monastic walls were also destroyed. After the demolition, a thorough search for valuables was carried out by the NKVD on the site.

The only building completed on the former monastery grounds before World War II currently houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The construction of the second building ("the capital center"), planned to be built on the site where the Cathedral had once stood, was delayed in the spring of 1938 as the authorities were not satisfied with the submitted design. This building failed to materialize. Some time after demolition, the site where the former cathedral used to be located was transformed into a sport complex, including tennis and volleyball courts. The Refectory (Trapezna) of St. John the Divine was used for changing rooms.

UPDATE: What has always amazed me is that liberals, progressives, socialists and communists always feel the need to destroy Christianity to support their obviously weak stance against faith. It really bothers them that Jesus does live today, especially as they try to point out He doesn't. 

Kinda weak. Kinda funny. To watch. Somebody gonna be surprised. Others will be pleasantly reassured. Love, life, religion and church will always be under attack, the heathen need to attack, but it is an attack that will hurt them. I really hope they change. I don't think they are capable of changing. Wow, so bad. I feel bad for those that are lost.

Literally, yesterday, I watched a drug addict change his life at the funeral of his mother. His mother, who was a close friend of mine who became an addict, spoke the truth to him about her life, her being born again and her defeat of the evils in her life, changed her life. Her son did the same yesterday.

I am not a "born again", but I do believe. I want to thank God for that I witnessed. Not to make light, but maybe my mother beat the love of God into me early. Whatever, I was blessed to see the changing of a young man and to be part of it.

I will say it has been a few years since I attended a funeral that was also a revival. Kinda rocked me, but in a good way 

AGW: The Dirty Money Behind Clean Energy

Federal funds flow to clean-energy firms with Obama administration ties

You'd almost think this is simply Chicago style payola, eh? Go Director Blue.

AGW: More Unsettled Science

TheScience is Settled: “Dramatic Claims About Snow Disappearing in the Sierra Justare Not Verified”

Have you noticed lately how many stories that are reaching the “mainstream” media debunking the whole global warming/climate change scam? A sure sign this hoax is headed toward history’s dustbin is the virtual irrelevance of chief scammer Al Gore and the growing evidence of data refuting the wild-eyed claims of Gore and his leftwing accomplices.

Well, there’s another breakthrough today as the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting snowfall in the Sierras has remained consistent over a 130-year span despite the hysterical claims of those who’ve perpetrated this massive fraud on a gullible public.

RTWT

Ohio's Chris "Effing" Redfern Wants Appropriate Rudeness In Politics

How ironic is it to utter truth and Redfern in the same sentence? Totally.

Obama's Ohio "truth team" debuts

Asked if she meant Obama supporters would infiltrate Republican events and challenge statements made during speeches, Neuhardt said she was referring to events where "Republicans and Democrats both" would be at that are "open to the public."

"We'll do it in an appropriate, mindful way, recognizing the importance of thear language. conversation," said Ohio Democratic chairman Chris Redfern, also a truth team member. "The truth team, we envision, will be more of a rapid response, taking a message directly at locations where those individuals who align with super PACs or organizations in support" of GOP presidential hopefuls are present.

Yep, Chris "Effing" Redfern knows exactly what is appropriate. Should be a revealing show. BTW, the linked video is inappropriate and contains vulgar language

How Fast Can Obama Ruin The US Economy?

The New Plan . . . Similar to the Old One

For gravitas President Obama sang
"I'm  a Little Teapot" accompanied
by an lutist.

President Obama, whose annual deficit spending has been more than twice as high as any other recent president’s (even as a percentage of the gross domestic product), has now released his new deficit plan. As the Wall Street Journal notes, “It is the president’s fourth package of deficit-reduction ideas this year.” Of these, only the first — his budget — was scored by a neutral, respected third-party. In that instance, Obama said his proposal would lower deficit spending by $1.1 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office said his proposal would raise deficit spending by $2.7 trillion — increasing it (over the next decade) from a projected $6.7 trillion under current law to $9.5 trillion under his proposal.  

The president’s latest proposal, which would increase taxes and thereby dis-incentivize work and investment, would likely have similar effects. Two things have brought about the unprecedented deficits under Obama: runaway spending, and an economic “recovery” that’s been a historic flop. The president’s new plan would do essentially nothing to address the former, and would likely cause the latter to sink even further. 

This is a classic example of Emerson's, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." The question of how fast? Faster than anyone thought possible.

EPA Costing Jobs, Higher Utility Bills And Lower Tax Revenues To Communities

The EPA, America’s newest legislative body, is at it again.

Three Coal Power Plants Closing

With the closing of these plants as well as the others in the region, according to reports, not only will the power be scarcer there, but also in the Northern Virginia area and region, especially at peak periods. Energy experts say 33 GWs of electicity will be lost. If the average home uses 0.00001104 Giga Watts per year a loss of 33 Giga Watts will affect 2, 989,130 of the 109,000,000 of year round occupied homes which is approximately 27% of the occupied homes in the United States of America. That is a lot of power to make up.

It is estimated that 1200 + plants will be closed in the next few years raising consumer costs by about 14% as well as increasing unemployment and the loss of taxes to local communities. A lose, lose, lose. On the other hand government experts and their allies say that the cost savings in health will offset the plant closings.

Yep, this has been well thought out, eh?

AGW: A Mountain Of Lies

The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows.

How Stupid Is Harry Reid?

Is it possible to measure? I do not believe there is a tool that has been invented, as yet. Harry Reid is a liar. From the get-go. He knows it and calculates his words to lie the best he can. Knowingly.



Harry Reid is the most venal politician pontificating today. Has anyone gotten through to Harry that he is no longer Leader? Not that he would care. He is a sad little man.

Obama Would Criminalize The Founding Fathers For Their Overt Religious Views In Governance

The Continental Congress opened every meeting imploring God to favor their thoughts and decisions about how the United States of America would be governed. Today's liberal (modern) interpreters of the Founding Father's vision deplore religion and seek to erase it not just from government, but also from the everyday life of Americans.

They do so directly and obliquely. The courts find fault with all Christian religion directly and now, the Obama administration is obliquely attacking Christianity by forcing the Catholic Church to violate a basic principle of their religion to make them "compatible" with our their "constitution."

From the top, we have the Obama administration’s new health care mandate requiring religious organizations to provide health insurance for certain procedures that are inimical to their core beliefs. Christian groups such as the Catholic Church would be required to cover abortions even though these groups see the medical procedure as a heinous act, a mortal sin. In order to comply with the order, these organizations must abandon their teachings. It would be rank hypocrisy for them to follow the Obamacare mandate.

We also have attacks by such lowlife individuals such as Mayor Bloomberg of New York City whose true religion is preaching what he believes others should whether they agree or not. Of course, NYC's streets still suck and business is fleeing, but religion and salt are more important to Bloomberg (also gun control as witnessed by his despicable lying ad during the Super Bowl).

On the bottom, we have New York City. The City has a policy of renting out empty public schools for use by local groups. It can be used for nearly any purpose but religious services. The Second Circuit Court of Appeal has recently upheld this practice. On first blush, this may seem reasonable as government cannot promote religion. However, the First Amendment also prohibits government from punishing religion. If the government opens up their property for use by non-religious groups, it must afford the same access to religious groups. Think of the legal absurdity of the Second Circuit’s ruling, an atheist group can hold a rally in a NYC public school denouncing god but a religious group cannot hold a service to praise God. The verbal jujitsu used by the Second Circuit to rationalize its decision is breath taking. In upholding the policy, it claims that it is not banning a religious view point but an activity – worship services; but by banning worship services, the government can now dictate how one expresses their religious viewpoint. Why the Supreme Court took a pass on this case is perplexing.

From the Warren Court down to even lesser minds such as Obama and Bloomberg we have liberals demanding that our Constitution is a "living document" so they can alter it to defile our founder's true intention, especially in terms of religion.

Catholics must fund that they find against God's will and atheists can use public property to ridicule Christianity, but Christians are prohibited from using the same or similar property to celebrate the love of God.

This is blatantly unconstitutional. It is also a display of hypocrisy and outright lying that our founders thought only a despot like King Charles III could exhibit. It never occurred to them that lying hypocrites would take control of the greatest government ever formed in the history of mankind.

May God, the founders and the millions of murdered babies forgive them.

I can't.

Piled As High As Mont Blanc

Punk of the week - Holder

“There’s a whole bunch of things that I could say about what you just did, maybe this is the way you do things in Idaho or wherever you’re from,”

Skunk of the week - Komen

Susan G Komen Foundation Does An Obama And Flip Flops

Bunk of the week – Employment Figures

Record 1.2M FALL OUT Of Labor Force...

Junk of the week  -  Obama Bravado

OBAMA WARNS CONGRESS: 'DON'T MUCK IT UP'..

Stunk of the week – The screwing of the soldier

Obama Pulls Combat Pay for U.S. Troops

Selfish & Stupid Humans To Freeze In AGW Payback

Yep, the 100's of geniuses living off taxpayer's money will have the last laugh as their AGW models will show just how stupid us non-scientists really are by making us freeze our butts off for years to come. It's a good thing they have their hockey stick so they can play some on the frozen kitchen sink.

The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.

The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.

Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.

…

Pal Brekke, senior adviser at the Norwegian Space Centre, said some scientists found the importance of water cycles difficult to accept, because doing so means admitting that the oceans – not CO2 – caused much of the global warming between 1970 and 1997.

The same goes for the impact of the sun – which was highly active for much of the 20th Century.

‘Nature is about to carry out a very interesting experiment,’ he said. ‘Ten or 15 years from now, we will be able to determine much better whether the warming of the late 20th Century really was caused by man-made CO2, or by natural variability.’

Meanwhile, since the end of last year, world temperatures have fallen by more than half a degree, as the cold ‘La Nina’ effect has re-emerged in the South Pacific.

‘We’re now well into the second decade of the pause,’ said Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. ‘If we don’t see convincing evidence of global warming by 2015, it will start to become clear whether the models are bunk. And, if they are, the implications for some scientists could be very serious.’

Maybe they also can keep warm enough to continue working on yet another AGW scam by burning their made up notes, lying emails and flat musical scores.

Port

Sky

Island Grotto

Off Key