Take Two with the Big Three

$1

The big three will return to DC this week to meet with congressional leaders; this time, they bring their plan on saving their companies. Get this, part of the plan is for the CEOs to reduce their annual salaries down to a single dollar.

This is subject only to if the company has to resort to using bailout money. Sounds like they will figure out some clever way to pay themselves.

Whether you pay millions or a single dollar a year to an idiot, the person is still an idiot.

What Do You Even Say to This?

Anyone looks presidential next to W

I wish the intelligence was different.

Wow. What do you even say to that other than f you Mr. President, f you. I seem to recall millions at home and around the world staging protests prior to the 2003 invasion. I also recall that many of our allies were very much against the war. All these people drew a different conclusion than you did. So either you had other agendas were you are incompetent. I think its a bit of both.

People Who Should Go Away

The big 3 losers

Obviously, after a week and a half of entertaining other distractions, some catching up is warranted.

I was very angry with the government financial bailout that will end up costing the tax payers well over a trillion dollar. It is no surprise that I am equally upset that the big 3 auto companies fly down to Washington in their corporate private jets to beg congress for a bailout. What is wrong with these people? I have a few ideas.

1. Short memories.
Need I remind you that you spend years lobbying against the interest of the American people. How much money did you pour into lobbying against stricter emissions control? How much money did you pour into lobbying against higher fuel efficiency standards? What do you mean you don't remember that it was your own actions that led to your current predicament?

2. No shame.
Have you no dignity? Have you no shame? Do not frame this issue as essential to saving the common American blue collar worker. Your pretense in the interest of the American people is disingenuous and disgusting. Were you looking out for their interests when you continually lobbied against emission control and fuel efficiency? Oh right, you were making bigger cars because gas was cheap and you were trying to squeeze every penny out of what's left out there before you change for the better. I don't see the plant workers of the Toyota, Honda, Hyundai plants in this country complaining? Gee, I wonder why.

3. Arrogance.
And please, don't claim ignorance, we've known about this since the oil shock of the 70's. I watched you arrogantly testify before congress that this mess is not a fault of yours to bare. The world watched you testify before congress and make a fool of yourself.. You could, in the least, demonstrate some humility.

3. Stupidity.
Look at the trends: Suez, the 1970s, Gulf War I, Gulf War II. Haven't you learned anything from history? No of course not, you were too busy making a buck at the expense of the public.

People Who Should Not Go Away - David Walker

Give this man his old job back, please, Mr. Obama

The founding fathers were so concerned with the debt incurred from the Revolutionary War that they acted to pay it down. By 1830, we were debt free. That was the only time in American history that it happened.

Please Watch

Our current debt stands at 11 something trillion. If you included off the books, yet to be funded projects, that number balloons to 50 trillion dollars. Imagine having a credit card debt that's is approximately 20 times your annual salary. Crazy.

Spending became out of control in the 80s. The financial crisis of today came from the habits we developed in the 80s under the joke that is Reaganomics: the nonsensical combination of supply side economics and trickle down economic theory. We shifted from a heavy manufacturing based economy to an economy based in financial services; meaning, instead of producing goods that are worth something tangible, we've shifted to producing goods that are only worth something on paper. Crazy.

9/11. Afghanistan. Iraq. To calm the public from our worries abroad, Bush encouraged us to go shopping. In the midst of this increased spending, Bush enacted 3 major tax cuts . The feds cut interest rates God knows how many times to make credit easily accessible. Presented with these conditions, it is easy for a consumer society to be tempted by the basic human trait of greed. Instead of asking the public to take its part in financing its debt, we started to shift that abroad, much of it to China. Crazy.

Our leaders don't have the guts to ask the American people to sacrifice now to secure our future. They're more concerned about holding on to their positions by playing to the desires of a consumer society. My father taught me fiscal responsibility. I don't have credit card debts. I took on student loans that I am paying off. My next vehicle and house will be reasonably within my financial means to pay off as I meet my other day to day financial obligations. Other than major life investments, I avoid buying things I cannot afford at that given moment.

Borrow and spend is an idiotic idea and the leaders that embraced this idea obviously didn't have a dad that taught them the same basics of financial responsibility that my father did. That, or the lesson just didn't stick for them. Either or, these leaders should not be our leaders. We all hate taxes, but it disciplines us, our leaders, and our government to practice fiscal responsibility. Paying taxes is patriotic. Sacrificing now to secure our future is patriotic. I am patriotic. You should be too.

People Who Should Go Away- Bill Kristol

I find your lack of hate disturbing

How delusional must you be to be in such deep denial is beyond me. Your obsessive need to defend the indefensible must be the manifestation of some unnamed psychological disorder. Either that or your just a pathological liar. Whichever the case, you're a nut case.

Your pet project, Sarah Palin proved herself an idiot. You didn't go away and you kept defending her.

Your father's legacy, the neoconservative ideology, fell apart and left a disastrous stain on American history . You didn't go away and you kept defending it.

Now, you want to revive the Project for the New American Century? What for? So we can invade Iran for some cooked up reason for another senseless war? Quit hiding behind your phony patriotism and just quietly fade into obscurity. You're irrelevant. You're a has been who actually never was. You've done enough damage for this American century and we're only 9 years in. Please just go away and be grateful that we can't try you for treason.

State of the Union

'Nuff said?

There's so much to be done.

The economy has been such an overwhelming concern that it has drowned everything else into this amorphous cloud of "other issues" that doesn't get as much coverage.

Pakistan is a complete mess, but we're not hearing too much on it.

Russia wants to play tough guy while the U.S. is distracted domestically by economic instability.

Still, no body gives 2 sh*ts about Africa, but at least we have someone in the White House who knows its a continent, not a country.

The clusterfu*k that is the Middle East.

And seriously, what are we going to do about Afghanistan?

Yes, I know and I get it: it's the economy, stupid. But after the past 8 years, it is clear that there are many more issues than just the economy that will test America now and determine our global, collective future. Let's close the chapter on the Bush administration for now. The fight for our future is about the begin.

When the Ship Sinks, the Rats run for the Lifeboats

Judgment has come

Now that the historic implications of Obama's ascension to the presidency is clearly reflected by an inspired and moved public, those that who campaigned most negatively against him are now cheering him along as his most enthusiastic cheerleaders. These people, namely Palin, Kristol, Bachmann, Lierberman, Rove, Fox News, demonstrate their complete detachment from reality by talking from their mouths as if they've forgotten that they've said the complete opposite out of their asses just weeks before. What more proof do we need that these people are not public figures interested in the public good, but rather propagandists interested in advocating for nothing but their self interests? Have these people no shame and no dignity?

McCain's concession speech is another example of this simultaneously walking both ways of a two way street nonsense. He displayed the grace and poise that the 2000 McCain commanded as a maverick. The McCain on that podium was not the same McCain that I got to know during this campaign. So which one is the real one? The one I would've voted for had he been the one to run against Gore in 2000? Or the recklessly ambitious one who sold his dignity in an all out, anything goes, effort to win the presidency?

Treason

Obey

The scariest thing about the recent revelations we are learning about Palin, post elections, is not that she didn't know that Africa is a continent and not a country. In fact, there were many early signal that affirmed her failure to meet presidential requirements on foreign policy, the economy, and civil government functions. So, if anything, this whole Africa thing is just the comedic cherry on top of everything people already knew about her. No, the scariest thing about Sarah Palin turned out to be her handlers and the campaign movement that was trying to get her into office.

Things have turned ugly with the campaign cannibalizing itself. What is troubling is that Palin's handlers knew, and knew early on, that she was not qualified for the office she was running. Yet they continued to champion her qualifications under the banner of "country first". This insincerity and disingenuous is almost treasonous, is it not? We ought to be outraged that these people knowingly put the country in danger. There was a steady period of weeks before the financial and credit calamity when a President Palin didn't seem all too unlikely. Dare we imagine what kind of disaster that would have been? Ironic that we were so convincingly saved from complete political disaster by an economic disaster.

The other scary thing is that people are still defending Palin. The McCain campaign has themselves created the monster that brought about their defeat. But the monster that is Palin has become greater than Palin herself. The people who have identified and connected Palin have done so on the level of the values they perceive to share. These people thus equate an attack on Palin as an attack on their values so no matter what facts that disqualifies Palin surfaces these people will only hang on tighter to their belief in her. What is sad is that this perception of shared value between these voters and Sarah Palin is a manufactured fraud on one end. I'm sure you can guess which end. None the less, these lemming voters need to exercise independent thoughts if they are to find salvation from their own ignorance. The American well being can no longer afford to be held hostage by the ignorance of these people, as it has been in the past 8 years.

PROGRESS

Finally, after a 43 hit combo

Polls show that the first post-racial president has been overwhelmingly voted in by a generation of nerds and dweebs who are deftly able to intelligently frame everything in the context of classic arcade hits.

Ahhhhh, yes. Progress. Change is here?

Time for Republicans to go Retro and be the Republicans They Once Were

Identity Crisis

Ahhh yes. Churchill was ever wise to note that Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing, only after they've exhausted all other options.

The election wasn't as bad as it could have been for the republicans. Let's face it, objectively, even the die hard liberals will tell you a democratic president plus 60 democrats in the senate is just too much power for any single party to wield. But if we consider the trend since 2006, it is obvious that the ideological base of the radical right is losing its grip. The very selection of John McCain was proof positive for me that the republican party is suffering from a severe case of identity crisis. How did the conservative party double our debt and end up with a bigger government than ever?

Unless Obama messes up real bad, the republicans will have to reinvent themselves by returning to their true values: small government, fiscal responsibility, minimalistic foreign policy, and strict constitutionalism. In my eyes, Ron Paul should be the future of what the republicans should strive to become because that's how the majority of America is: socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Tolerance on social issues should be flexible and adaptable to a progressive society. The public in general should not be too concerned about foreign policy unless it concerns a threat to America. Fiscal responsibility is a no brainer: borrow and spend just doesn't work if you don't generate the revenue to fund your debts. And constitutional issues should be debated publicly and voted on in the supreme courts.

But Obama won't mess up like Clinton did in his first year by trying to go too liberal. Obama's too smart and will rule in the center. What will hurt him is that in order to restore American primacy, we would have to sacrifice first, and I don't believe the American people are patient enough to wait first, sacrifice now, to reap the benefits later. But in my heart of hearts, I hope I am proven wrong.

/Facepalm of the Week

Africa is not a country you tard

You have to watch this. Now that the election is over, I love how stuff is coming out about Palin. Fox news is distancing themselves.

And, did O'reilly say that a Vice Presidential candidate can be prepped for knowledge she should already know??! I also love at the end how O'reilly says this is good reporting.

One More Before Tomorrow

Texas, explains a lot

The American campaign season lasts almost 2 years. Why does the the longest political race in the world conclude with only a single day of general voting? It should be at least a couple of days? Keeping up with the candidates to remain informed on the issues is a part time job for most citizens who already have full time jobs. We need more than just 1 day of voting to get all the informed voters into the booth to cancel out all the dumb people that vote. Can you believe 23% of Texas still believe that Obama is Muslim? Omg, typing that last sentence got me so upset I can't finish this post.

Haha, Punk'd

Awwwwkward

Wow, even when you think you're talking to another head of state, you still sound like you are just reading from a list of memorized talking points.

Nice outfit by the way, I like that shade of blue.

People Who Should Go Away

Really? Are you serious?

You are a joke. How do you take yourself seriously? Please go away.

2 Hours and 36 Minutes

Worth the wait

I voted in-person absentee this morning. Three more days.

Kiss of Death

You don't know Dick

/Facepalm of the week.

Knowing what the public thinks of you, you have to have quite an ego to be Dick Cheney and think your endorsement would mean something. Then again, it makes sense because Dick Cheney doesn't care what the public thinks.

Even Bush has enough brains to stay out of the public eye these last couple days of the campaign.

OR perhaps, knowing his endorsement would seal the fate for the other candidate, Dick Cheney is really throwing his weight behind Obama. I wouldn't put it past him, he's just that twisted.

Power Corrupts

Guilty

At 84, Stevens is currently the oldest and longest serving senator in the Senate. At some point early on, I imagine, he was an idealistic young man who found the idea of public service appealing. Admirable, yes, and worthy of praise. But I never met that idealistic young man. The only Stevens I have ever known is the angry old man who, with his definition of the internet as a series of tubes, is clearly out of touch with the current generation. That, however, was not enough reason for me to judge a man I do not know. It turns out that I didn't have to pass judgment - a court of law did that for me, convicting him of failing to report gifts he took; gifts that were probably used to buy favors for his friends. I don't feel bad for him. I don't think anyone will. He's served the state of Alaska for so long, I would not be surprised if he received a pardon from Bush. He definitely won't be serving any jail time, that's for sure.

The lesson? Power corrupts. He was in the Senate too long. So long that the once idealistic young man I imagine him to be has long departed and left only the man that was convicted in court. You can tell he was in power for too long because his testimony at his trial was that of a man who had a sense of entitlement that only a man corrupt by power could feel. At first, I considered making this post a People Who Should go Away. I thought that was too harsh and considered it for the /Facepalm of the week. But then I realized that I wasn't angry at him like I usually would be. Instead, I felt sorry for him. Perhaps its because I worry for my own future. Will my capacity and desire to do good be compromised by the power I will have to yield in order to serve the public? Is it an inevitable catch-22 situation? It probably be best to just aspire for bureaucratic positions and avoid public offices all together.

Anyway, this is relevant because the Democrats are eying 60 in the Senate and it worries me. As I mentioned, I will continue to hope for change, but only up to the point where I will not be devastated if that change doesn't come.

People Who should Not Go Away

I talk good

Watch this exchange and you will understand why this guy is awesome. He might lighten up on the sarcasm, but it's always great to see someone go toe to toe with those raving lunatics they call anchors on that channel.

On that note, I think any fair and balanced person would know that Fox's Rovian repetition that they are fair and balanced is a complete farce. Fox is news in the same way that pro wrestling is a sport: the conclusions are predetermined and but a lot of showmanship is put in to try to convince you otherwise. That's why we call it sports entertainment. There should be a category of news entertainment exclusively for Fox. How do these people sleep at night?

Change?

It's all part of the plannnnnnnn

What would America look like when the millions and millions of Obamaniacs run wild on you? Would it usher in a post-racial, post-partisan era of politics? Would the actual change that occurs resonate the hope that candidate Obama embodies? Better yet, what if no change occurs at all and it's just politics as usual: same nonsense, different party.

I, too, am hopeful for change. But I remain skeptical. Obama is still human and he is still a professional politician. If anything, I am never surprised by a politician's capacity to disappoint. If the changes that I want do come, I will of course embrace it. If it does not, I would not be surprised.

What about a landslide victory? Republicans are bracing for it. If does happen, Obama can indeed become the transformational figure that Powell hopes for. What if 60 democrats, riding on the popular coattail of Obama, get elected into the senate? What guarantees do we have that democrats can fare better? The damages done by the neocon ideology has finally come to temporary halt, but no matter who's in power, we're still facing the same problems that we face this very moment. In the same situation as the republicans, who's to say that the democrats won't become drunk on power?

I guess the message is this: whatever happens, we will do ourselves and our fellow man a service if we stay smart, stay informed, and stay skeptical. Obama should not get a free pass just because he's a superior alternative to past and present options.

People Who Should Go Away

Judas

While as a person I'm sure Senator Lieberman is as nice as they come, as a politician he's about as honorless as they come.

2 years ago.

2 years later.

Now.

Sir, you disgust me. Please go away.

End Game

Oops, sorry I was wrong
But it's ok, I have no accountability to worry about

I don't know about you, but for me, it was a little surreal to witness the former Federal Reserves chair person admit that he was wrong. He was so revered that I even thought I was crazy for disagreeing with him. But now I know I wasn't crazy for thinking that a system fueled by greed can self regulate itself. In fact, this man has to be completely out of touch with reality to have thought that greedy people know when to say no.

Regardless, at his prime, this man was an untouchable economic guru. Watching his downfall signaled an end to an era. In fact, his admission of guilt is the official nail in the coffin for me. Not since the end of the Cold War has history seen such a dramatic conclusion to an ideology.

Bill Clinton, for all his faults, steered the country right. We were an example for others and our example solidified our victory in the battle over ideology during the Cold War. That victory was hijacked over the past 8 years. In less than 12 weeks, I hope we get back on track.

/Facepalm of the Week

OMG! I want attention!

Someone tell me the thought process behind her thinking that motivated her to do what she did, because I just don't get it. Then I saw this picture and it made some sense.

EDIT: The flip side.

Dear Mrs. McCarthy

How about we investigate you for being stupid?

It's been a while. I apologize. Things have been hectic as of late.

First thing's first... /FACEPALM OF THE WEEK!

Wow. Just wow. I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed this, but I could have sworn that was Ann Coulter. It can't be a coincidence that all these radical, right wing crazy women have the same blank, vacant stares which signal that there's really no one home upstairs. Investigate Americans for pro or anti-American activities? Please impeach this woman.

Seriously. Really?

America, the beautiful

Apparently, McCain has his limits. Some woman at a town hall meeting prefaced her question with, "I don't trust Obama. I have read about him. He's an Arab." Really? You read that? You need to read something other than Fox News, lady.

McCain had to take the mic out of her hands to say, "No ma'am. He's a decent family man with whom I happen to have some disagreements."

At the same town hall meeting, McCain said that people should not be afraid of a President Obama. It was greeted with boos and more shouts of hatred.

There are 2 possibilities. McCain took a long hard look in the mirror and realized what he has become. Or his handlers have told him that going negative is costing him more votes. Perhaps its a combination of both. But in the end, you reap what you sow. This hate filled crowd is a product of his own doing. I mentioned before that this tactic is fundamentally unAmerican and detrimental to democracy and I will say it again.

I think with some time, I can forgive McCain for being a politician. I don't think I can forgive the American people for being stupid. To think that there are still people out there dumb enough to buy into this whole notion that Obama is a Muslim terrorist is really beyond me. You certainly have the right to live your life as you please, but when you live your life in such an irresponsible manner that it'll affect the future of this country vis-a-vis your vote, you have to be called out for being a dumba#$. Lady, I hope you see yourself on national TV, realize how dumb you are, and change your ways.

Palin's Patriotism

Mustaches are patriotic

I don't necessarily like Friedman. I think he overstates the obvious sometimes. But on this, I do agree with him.

IT'S ON

Super Troopergate

Nice try. Now let's see what you are trying to hide.

Keeping Expectations Low as not to be Disappointed

Camacho/Supreme '08

As much as I want to believe that Obama wants to make a difference, I just know that he'll eventually disappoint. On top of repairing the damages from the past 8 years of neglect, the next administration will face a whole host of economic and international that will come in the next 4 years. There's just too much to do and people will have to be disappointed for real progress to be made.

CNN as described the culminating perils as a "perfect storm". Let's look at the progression: 9/11, Iraq (and everything that comes with it), usurp of VP powers, domestic phone taps, Guantanamo, global warming, Katrina, Justice Department, 10 trillion deficit, Iran, rising Russian influence, oil prices, economic crisis, and I'm sure there are more that are not coming to me at the moment. There's no way a single person get fix all this in a way that can live up to the hype Obama is promoting.

The one ticket that can save us, the Stewart/Colbert ticket, is unelectable. The other ticket that can save us, the Camacho/Supreme ticket, does not exist.

One thing is for certain, don't buy into this whole tax cut nonsense. It doesn't matter who the next president is, taxes are going up. This has to be the sacrifice that this generation of Americans have to assume the responsibility for. Our 10 trillion debt is tied into every current and future problem that the United States is facing. Our consumer tendencies have to be put aside for now so that we do not pass this burden onto the following generations.

Don't Panic! China to Save Capitalism

Ni Hao

The Dow closed below 9,000. We've socialized the credit industry and are now looking to socialize the banking industry all together. But don't worry! China will save capitalism!

Chinese authorities have also announced plans to save democracy should the McCain/Palin ticket win the U.S. presidential elections in November this fall.

Unacceptable

I disagree with mob justice, but they're really asking for it

Yay! The American people bailed us out! Now we can resume our coconut butter skin treatments!

What a bunch of crooks. This is totally unethical.

Jaded

President Camacho will save us all

I once considered McCain an honorable man, but I have now lost all the respect I had for him. I had thought him a patriot and a true maverick, but his increasingly negative campaign that focuses solely on smear and mud flinging has exposed his true identity as a politician. What happened to the promises of running a respectable campaign? The tactics of guilt by association and obvious attempt to foment further misunderstanding over Obama's identity is unamerican and detrimental to the democratic process.

I mean, just look at the base McCain's appealing to. I can't believe these people take themselves seriously. The right is making it easy for people to stereotype them for their hate mongering. I hope after the election is over, not matter the result, McCain will take a long, sobering look at himself in the mirror and ask himself if all this was worth the man he sees in front of him. Unless, of course, he was like this all along. It would be my fault, then, for thinking I saw any glimmer of sincerity in the one time maverick.

Greed is Good

Please bailout my company while I divert money to myself, k, thanks

The government isn't dishing out justice in the courts, guess the gym is the next best place to settle it.

Oh no! Hearings! Heads to roll, please.

Vanity

Vanity, it gets them every time

Someone make sense for me this need that the American people have to have their elected officials be someone just like them. Bush won two terms on his ability to portray himself as a regular guy who you just want to have a beer with. While I understand that the principles of representative government is at play, I think the American people are taking it too literally. Representative government is intended for officials to represent the interests of the constituents. It is not for officials to represent the intelligence of the constituents.

So then what is it? Is it vanity? Have Americans become so vain that anyone perceived as being more qualified or more intellectual have to attacked as elitist? Do we not need leaders more capable than ourselves for our country to stay ahead of the curve?

Palin represents a continuation of this mentality. The fact that the republican campaign has embraced this tactic after 8 years of Bush makes me question their judgment. What is even sadder is that after 8 years people are still able to be manipulated into thinking that having a leader you can relate to is the single qualifying factor in a presidential election. Between her prime time interviews and the political motivation behind her selection as the vice presidential candidate, any person of sound judgment has to conclude that she does not qualify to hold this office.

I can't help but to think of the movie the Devil's Advocate with Pacino and Reeves. Even when given a second chance to make the right decision, the devil, by playing to man's vanity, still "gets them every time."

Humor break

Every now and then, I like to take a break from being angry about politics to laughing at politics.

More Spin

Please stop, my head hurts

Oh, so you only "suspended" your campaign in a drama queen fashion to "rush" back to D.C. last week not to inject presidential politics into this debate. The 2000 McCain I know would kick your a*# for such hypocrisy.

Facepalm of the Week

Spin! Spin! Spin!

/Facepalm

Yes, because asking about your views on issues relevant to our country is missing an opportunity. Because asking questions about your background when you've "only been at it for 5 weeks" characterizes those questions as attacks. You're dumb. Go away.

Socialist Revolution is Complete

Wall Street before country

The bill passed in the house. How did we get more republicans on board to support this modified bill? We greased it with pork.

Transfer of public money to private sector? Check.

Transfer of private debt to public sector? Check.

Social safety net for the rich COMPLETE.

In this country, we have bought the stigma that any socialism is bad. I'm very upset that we don't embrace socialism that is good. Universal education? Universal health care? We don't come down on progressive European nations that implement these policies. Why do we, instead, embrace bad socialism? The elites who exploited the mentality that socialism is bad have already made off with the bank. This is the biggest heist in American history and no one responsible will be held accountable. How typical.

Palin Debate Methodology 101

You can almost hear the gears grinding

Thanks, Adennak.

Yes, Biden won. But it's sad that just doing "ok" is considered a win for Palin too.

Not Sure About Vermont, But Sure Like its Senator

A for effort

Looking out for the middle class.

Justice and accountability please.

Sanders in action. Watch!

Be Prepared Tonight

Test your might

This will be essential for your VP debate viewing party.

http://www.palinbingo.com/

Well, You're Angry Today

I know how you feel

If you watched last night's and tonight's installment of The Daily Show, you might have noticed something you don't see very often. Jon got angry. It's subtle, but towards the end of that bit, you could tell there was genuine anger beneath the humor. Even the guest, Bill Mahr, comes on with, "Well, you're angry today."

This evening, Jon showed the same subtle anger when he talked about the disingenuous of politics today; the same thing I was just ranting about in the last post. Seeing him angry about these things makes me all the more upset about it as well. The times must be dire if the usual go guy for laughs over the absurdities of politics is letting anger seep through his humor.

He cited 2 examples. The first was Palin's stance on abortion. She's a strict pro-life advocate who thinks abortion is illegal even in cases of rape and incest. When pressed by Couric on this question, she said she will "counsel" people to choose life as if the victim will have a choice when Palin wants to illegalize abortions. CAN YOU JUST SAY WHAT YOU F@*KING MEAN?

The second example referred to something McCain said during the republican convention, how he will pick judges that will be strict constitutionalists who will not legislate from the bench. The crowd cheered of course because they understand that to be code for: over turning Roe vs. Wade and banning gay marriages. SO THEN WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SAY WHAT YOU F@*KING MEAN?

I hate this disingenuous dance that politicians do with words to straddle definitions and escape accountability through technicalities. What happened to being motivated by selflessness and honor? What happened to just taking a stance, admitting when you are wrong and assuming responsibility for the consequences.? I criticize these people for being crazy but perhaps I am really the crazy one because I think things ought to be done differently. At what point does my idealism become naivety?

I'm sick of this election cycle. They really need to consider a law that limits people the time they are allowed to campaign for the presidency.

Would Palin Even Qualify as a Staffer?

In the distant future, the year 2000, McCain will once again be a model politician

Vice presidential debates are tomorrow. While her recent interviews have proven how her knowledge on key issues lack depth, I agree with the assessment that Palin will do just fine in her showdown with Senator Biden. Palin is a proven spokesperson. By that I mean if given a set of talking points and punch lines, she'll deliver with style. But if she's asked for her own analysis like on her interview with Gibson and Couric, she will struggle to weave together loose thoughts that form incoherent sentences.

That said, the format of Thursday's debate will not require Palin to stray too far off her talking points. Therefore, Palin will appear confident, likable, and stand her ground against Biden. Unfortunately, her dismal performance on interviews with network anchors has set expectations so low for her that all she has to do is swing for par and her base will be able to spin a victory for her.

I just want to further express my disappointment with Palin in practical terms. If I was interviewing with John McCain to be a simple staffer on either his economic or foreign policy team, I would not be hired if I responded with Palin's answers - NO ONE WOULD. I find it tremendously disingenuous that McCain continues to laud her qualifications to be vice president, and by default, president of the United States. The 2008, politics first, McCain is a mere shadow of the 2000, country first, McCain that I admired.

If the disastrous possibility that a McCain/Palin victory should unfold, I will still hold out hope that McCain will return to his maverick self. I hope that McCain will just say, "F@*k you guys, I did what I had to do to get elected, now I will go back to being me and get sh*t done."

Your Dirty Sex Makes God Send Hurricanes!

We'll do it live

Haha, this bit made me laugh. It will make you laugh too.

While we're on the topic of Fox News, here's more of their fair and balanced malarkey. How do these people sleep at night? On a bed made of money.

Casino Capitalism

Capitalism baby, capitalism

I played a few irresponsible hands this weekend. I played my hands according to my expectations on the returns relative to the risks involved. Some I won and some I lost. However, after each loss, I would stop to readjust my behavior. I definitely did not look around expecting someone to bail me out for, say, $700 B.

I thought about how crony capitalism is quite similar to gambling. I look at the financial market and the entire concept of securities, futures, and speculation of the market is really no different from gambling.

Greed promotes the mentality that it is only irresponsible if you lose. This mentality and the resulting behavior are supposed to be corrected by losing. Can you imagine how people in Las Vegas will play if they thought they would be bailed out?

Again, it's socialized risk for the fat cats and market discipline for everyone else. Christmas for them and Festivus for the rest of us!

The Bush Who Cried Wolf One Too Many Times

Aesop

Now Bush can't even get his own party to support his plan.

The sad thing is, Bush might be correct this time. We might really be in a crisis and his plan might really be the urgent solution we need to put off disaster. But no one buys his cry for help anymore. Credibility is all dried up.

Wall Street tanked 700+ points, the single largest drop in a day. Is McCain going to suspend his run for the White House?

Palinomics 101

Ohhh.... NOW I get it

So, in trying to make sense of Palin's senseless babble, I found Zubin Jelveh's flow chart quite helpful.

Uh... and where was Palin post debate with all her support of her running mate??

What are you babbling about??!?

Facepalm of the week

Here's more of Palin's interview with Couric. Katie's eyes betray what she's thinking. This is going to be a tough facepalm to top next week.

I had to dig out the transcript to figure out what she's saying. I read it twice and still have no clue.

Be it nerves or a lack of understanding on the economic situation, this woman is not fit for the job she's running for.

Going to be busy the next several days.

So painful...

Moose in headlights

This is just too painful to watch. I wanted to look away so many times.

I don't blame the McCain campaign for imposing a media blackout on Sarah Palin. She can't seem to stand on her own without a script.

Then again, as far as Vice Presidents go, we have more access to Sarah Palin than we do to Dick Cheney.

Dear Leader fakes health and nuclear crisis to be on set of Team America II

Harro!

With North Korea removing IAEA inspection seals at the Yongbyon site in preparation to restart nuclear operations, the intelligence community is debating how reports of the Dear Leader's disappearance from the public eye is related.

"While most reports indicate that Kim Jun Il has suffered some kind of health related setback," said CIA Director Michael Hayden, "Variety is reporting that both the reports on his health and the recent nuclear provocations are just to distract the public from the specifics of Team America II."

Since going into production in 2008, Team America II has been shrouded in secrecy. "Even we don't know what the script is about," admitted a visibly defeated Hayden. However, Variety seemed to have landed an inside scoop.

"We can't get into specifics, but we have reliable sources that confirm Kim Jung Il will not only be lending his voice to the Kim Jung IL puppet like in Team America, but he will also be the puppeteer of his own puppet this time around," reported Variety.

While most of the world is concerned with the continuation of nuclear activities on the Korean peninsula, Variety suggested that the world should not worry because it has something to do with the filming of Team America II and not with escalating international tension and regional instability.

The DPRK declined to comment.