boot them all… in their damn heads
Nancy Pelosi needs to shut the hell up. In fact, she needs to be voted out along with a very large contingent of Congressional incumbents. Thus far all of them have proven incompetent when it comes to running the government, most disappointingly, the Democratic Party. They were just barely functional in times of relatively calm periods, now, in times of real consequences, they are beyond parodies of themselves. A real live circus of petulance, self-interest and ineptitude is playing out on the hill as the country is begging for genuine leadership and guidance through mounting crises.
I wish I could say that those who voted "Nay" did so at the behest of their constituency and for political favor when they return to their districts to face their electorate, but evidence (granted circumstantial, but knowing how things have been in Washington, I’d wager more true to life than not) shows that more so votes were cast under the intense glare of re-elections come Novermber 4th instead of conscience or principle.
Yet, I’m not sure how I feel about the outcome of the $700,000,000,000 bailout vote itself. The politics of the vote stink just about as bad as it can, but then again I’m still not convinced that the bailout, at least as it has been presented, is the solution to this mess. Someone has got to provide a better explanation than we need it to keep credit flowing. I understand the importance of it in terms keeping business afloat when dealing with accounts payable, account receivable, payrolls and operational expansion as needed. And I also understand it in terms of providing student loans and lending for critical needs, but are banks really going to stop making those loans? Are they really going to run out of capital to extend those lines of credit? Is the complete halt of the economy imminent or is this an overreaction the fact that the good times can’t continue to roll on credit alone? Even though Paulson and Bernake had public hearings on why this expensive taxpayer bailout is necessary, they were so full of vagueness and unconvincing conjecture that it sure made it a hard pill to swallow. Why aren’t they articulating exactly what has got them so worried? Is it because what they actually want to do is, in fact, bailout the investors to not just keep them solvent, but to actually payoff their losses so they aren’t as accountable for their mess as they very well should be? I don’t know, but from my read of the situation and explanations offered (or lack thereof) there just seems to be a lack of any real justification for asking the taxpayer to fork over such a large sum.
Isn’t this were the leadership aspect is supposed to come in? Doesn’t a good, capable leader explain what the problem is, find a solution and get everyone involved in implementing said solution to fix the problem?
In other thoughts, I know it seems the American Mainstream Media (MSM) can only focus on one sensational story at a time, but seriously no coverage of what is happening with our ongoing wars? I mean, if anything, in light of our current focus... we actually did spend $700 billion in Iraq. Not even a compare and contrast?
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Friday, September 26, 2008
is it over yet?
So in watching the continuing beauty pageant answer fest that is now Katie Couric’s interview with Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin I caught a statement that struck a nerve pretty deeply. When the Alaskan governor was asked why she hadn’t obtained a passport until just last year (the woman is forty-four and had barely even traveled out of state) the following was her response and I quote:
I am not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents get’em a passport and give’em a backpack and say go off and travel the world – noooo I worked all my life…Um, yeah. The italicized words are my perception of Palin perhaps being sarcastic if not down right condescending in tone, which really seems to be a familiar theme with her.
The way I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world.
So what rubbed me the wrong way about that? Well, for one, I think more people probably should send their kids overseas and have them travel the world to give them some semblance of a point of view outside of their own home town, home state – home country.
Personally, in my opinion and anecdotal experience, I’ve found people who see no value in traveling or have no desire to travel, be it a simple road trip to some place random and new or crossing oceans and continents, to be quite closed-minded and incurious. And that’s not just in traveling, but in many other aspects of their lives. They tend not to think about things much and often can only recite what they’ve been told when asked about anything. In my estimation, Palin seems to bearing that out. It’s funny, way back during the primaries when I first caught word about her; I was listening to the Washington Journal on CSPAN and a caller brought her up as a potential running mate for McCain. I was truly intrigued and thought that might be quite an interesting choice. Well, who would have thought she would turn out to be a total Bush incarnate? But worse. I suppose that’s what the vetting process is all about, right?
My other problem with the statement is that she’s somehow conflating traveling with being a snotty kid that didn’t have to work for anything and had mommy and daddy pay for everything. Excuse me Mrs. Palin, but some of us did manage to travel, go to school and work without having mommy and daddy pay our way. Some of us are actually curious about other places, other people, and other ways of life. Some of us understand that cultural differences do exist and don’t mind being open to experiencing them. Or maybe Mrs. Palin was trying to say people who travel are slackers that ride the mooch train because they don’t have any ambition to do real work? Again, another example of her not quite being open to the notion that other people have different points of view. Not only that, but another way of injecting the culture war. I’m so done with this us versus them mentality. Those people? What the hell. With everything that is happening in the US right now, a time when we need to all start getting on the same page and moving in the same direction, this dimwitted approach to campaigning is still the mode of operating?
The last part of her response, what she knows she learned through books and other mediums? What books? What other mediums? Please, I hope she wasn’t thinking of The Amazing Race and Survivor. One would hope that after attending the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hawaii Pacific University, North Idaho College, University of Idaho, Matanuska-Susitna College, and back to the University of Idaho to finish with a degree in journalism she picked up quite a bit of education. No knock on those institutions or her bouncing around from school to school (hey she could have had to pay her own way and money gets tight, kudos for her even finishing) but I don’t get the sense they provided her the breadth and scope of the world to claim enough knowledge sufficient to be second in command of the free world. Just my opinion. But listening to these interviews with her, it is apparent her world view is quite myopic and uninformed. It really is incredulous that the people banging on Obama for being nothing but empty speeches can look at this woman and believe she brings anything substantive to the office she’s running for. Hasn’t this nation tired of mediocre leaders yet?
By the way, did I ever say how much I love President Bartlet?
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Friday, September 19, 2008
in response...
This is my response to Brian’s comment to yesterday’s rant.
No Brian you haven’t tried to explain it to me in the past. What you have tried to do is to get me to see things from your point of view via the likes of townhall.com and Thomas Sowell. Respectfully, it’s a point of view I don’t necessarily agree with most of the time and, perhaps, contrary to what you might think, I can figure out things on my own pretty well. Because I may not see things your way doesn’t mean I don’t understand any less what has been going on. And yes you bet I’m pretty damn angry about what’s going on these days. But no, I’m not blinded to reason. I can remove myself from the echo chambers to get some perspective and understanding. While I do lean more towards an equality based ideology to things I’m not opposed to trying to understand other points of view.
You are most definitely correct that the Government completely failed to conduct the business of governing. I too believe that there were plenty of rules and regulations in place that should have prevented the meltdown (especially after TWO such crises). Yes the failure was due, in large part, to overly complex and unenforceable regulations (that so-called alphabet soup) which is a huge reason why the government failed to put the brakes on this mess. Corruption and ineptitude notwithstanding. But don’t for a damn second believe its all the government’s fault and that the “free market” is completely absolved from this massive goat rodeo (or the American populace for that matter). When you’ve got a society that is incapable of living within its means; spending money it doesn’t have and a market system that hides and obfuscates its obligations and accounting well you’ve got the cluster we have now.
Brian, don’t mistake my belief that government can and should be an institution of fairness, justice, equality and true service to its constituents for blind devotion to it or an inability to see its faults. Nor should you assume my indignation is some desire to do away with capitalism and establish some sort of communist regime. I’m pissed because we’ve completely failed again despite having gone through these same problems before (not to mention all failed economies throughout history prior to the establishment of the United States). When do we f*****g learn. We should be better than this. I’m aggravated by the ineptitude of people that should know better, who fell down on the job and then want to blame something or someone else for the problems they wrought or at the very least failed to recognize. I’m angry at the injustice of it all, that those absolutely responsible for this get to walk away to wreak havoc another day and I’m left holding the check.
As proven so often throughout our history, the laissez-faire approach to governing markets simply just does not work. Tell me, who do you think should have been overseeing the market? Who should have been instituting the checks and balances to the system? The market itself? Yeah, cause self-regulation often works so well when it comes to billions of dollars. An independent organization other than the government? Hmmm, let’s ask the credit rating agencies how well they did in remaining independent and objective. Really, do tell, who should have been the public’s fiduciary in this situation? Because, I’m sorry, but I find your summary lacking.
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Thursday, September 18, 2008
unreal.
Not to over simplify my stirring inner rage right now at what's happening in the economic world but the next time somebody says to let the free market do its thing or its the answer to all and anything - punch them in their damn face. The next time someone says that trickle down economics or supply-side economics is what's best for the country - punch them in their damn face. The next time someone says that there's too much government regulation and intervention in the markets and that the capitalists aren't given enough freedom to do what they need to do to make money - punch them in their damn face, then kick them in the eye. If you still believe any of that failed economic philosophy, punch yourself in your damn face.
Twice now the "fiscal conservatives" and free market capitalists got their way. They got people to buy into relaxing government regulation and oversight. Said it was to constraining to doing business and that they couldn't make money or "spur the economy". So we did and oh did they make their money. Then when they got over zealous and threw caution and reason to the wind, starting taking more risks, then it all came crumbling down. Then they turn to the government to step in. To save them. Put the taxpayer on the hook for their gross misconduct and walk away with money still in their pockets.
At least twice now, under Republican rule, the country took it in the rear for letting the so called capitalists spur our economy.
If you really still feel the need to vote Republican this fall, please just stay the !#$@ home. I'm tired of having to continue to pay for your mistakes.
And the next time someone says "tax and spend Democrats" or the Democrats want nothing but "big government" here's a little reminder to shut the hell up. It's even in picture form in case words are too much for you.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
when you can’t handle the truth
So I stumbled upon this article. For a while now, especially during this presidential campaign season, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the inability of people to separate fact from fiction and to continue to buy into misinformation, half-truths and flat out lies. My assumptions centered on mental defects, delusion and an unwillingness to admit to being wrong. But now it seems there may be some scientific evidence that would back up some of my assertions (more the delusion and unwillingness to admit to being wrong, but I still posit some suffer from some serious mental defects, I’m looking at you Tucker Bounds. And while parenthetically stating, why is it that guys with a first name of Tucker are douches? Is it because they’re named Tucker)?
So what do you do when half of the electorate refuses to accept the truth? Well it would seem things go to hell in a hand basket quite readily and we all burn. How long do we let the delusional continue to run this country into the ground?
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Thursday, September 11, 2008
and how will we remember
As we take a moment on this anniversary to remember the fallen and the repercussions it’s hard not to think of what lies ahead.
For some reason the American masses have become so obsessed with the inconsequential one has to wonder just how dumb we’ve become. I can’t even begin to contort my mind into such a way to fathom the level of idiocy of politics now.
With what this nation faces; a tanking economy, exploding debt being financed more and more by foreign countries like China, Japan and the United Arab Emirates, an overstressed military, damaged foreign relations, decaying national infrastructure, an incoherent energy policy, a crumbling educational system, a widening gap between the rich and the middle class, and the looming fiscal crisis of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, you have to ask yourself why. Why is it like this? Why aren’t we talking about it? Why isn’t it being addressed? Why isn’t this being covered?
Wake the hell up people. Get your heads out of the sand and take a look around at what’s really happening. This isn’t about “average” versus “elite”. This isn’t about “they’re just like me” versus “I don’t know what they’re about”. This isn’t about “I’m more patriotic than you”. This isn’t about lipstick, flag lapel pins, out of context sound bites, or tired old political retreads. There are real and serious issues that need to be addressed and our politicians are fighting over lipstick and who’s more about change? Why aren’t you demanding answers to the issues?
Look no one likes to hear about how crappy things are and all the bad things that are happening. But everything isn’t all great. America, while still a grand nation, is not without its flaws and some of them, if not addressed will bring the country down. Read the history of Rome if you want to know how an all-powerful nation comes to an end. Or, in modern parlance, just look at the airline and automobile industries. American born and bred, the greatest companies on Earth and now look at them run into the ground by mismanagement and ignoring the warning signs. The things that are bankrupting them are the exact problems the country as a whole is facing.
You can’t continue to just chant USA! USA! USA! and rest on the laurels of the great work of the past (and you Drill!Baby!Drill! retards need a serious reality check). Our great nation needs help and we continue to ignore the warning signs. How far down the hole do we have to go before people realize what is more important to ask of our leadership? Pointing out what’s wrong in America isn’t hating your country. Asking for something to be done about it isn’t being unpatriotic. If we let another election go by based on simple “character” issues and inconsequential “social and moral” issues you will see the end of this great nation we all claim to love so much. That is a promise you can count on.
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Friday, September 05, 2008
in case you were wondering
Nice. A little something to think about if you were wondering what the differences were.
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Wednesday, September 03, 2008
failure
Had a massive system failure, several hard drive crashes, a blown power supply and a bad boot sector on the one hard drive that survived (i.e., can't boot windows which will now require a re-install). Good news it's all fixable on the same hardware though it's quite obsolete by today's hardware standards. Bad news is some critical data has been lost. I know, I know, backup backup, backup. Well maybe now this time I'll actually install and run the automatic back up utilities.
So, I almost lost all my vacation pics, including those from China but luckily those have been recovered. Updates as soon as I can get things back online.
On a non-failure note, congrats to Tim on completing his first Ironman Triathlon. He finished under ten hours, placed twentieth overall and second in his age group. It was a kick-ass thing to be a part of, though I still stand by my theory that endurance athletes are not quite sane. But we love them anyway. Good stuff.
Out.
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