So...here's my breakdown of the subprime mortgage crisis:
A bunch of stuff happened and now nobody's loaning money, which sucks because apparently our entire economy is based on borrowing.
So now the gov'ment is going to shell out to save the banks coincidentally almost exactly the same amount of money we spent on the Iraq war.
The theory, I guess, is we'll save the banks so that they'll have money to lend to small businesses and regular people who want to buy, say, a car or something.
There are a lot of things I don't get, and here's a few of 'em:
Why not just bypass the insane banks altogether, let THEM fester with the crappy loans, and give 700 Bil to small, local banks that DIDN'T fuck us over?
...or better yet, we'll, like, borrrow 700 Billion dollars from our children and lend it ourselves rather than give it to banks to lend to us.
And then there's the $100 Billion of discretionary spending for the President in this bill, which I don't much like. That dude spent his whole presidency trying to get unregulated discretionary spending. Remember that one time he wanted $40 Billion in discretionary spending for the Iraq war, where he'd get $40 Bil to spend any way he wanted with no oversight? Yeah, the Senate kinda shot that down. So now he's gonna get two and a half times that. I don't know about you, but I can't say I trust that man with a hundred billion dollars.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
How Thoughtful Of Me To Plant All This Food
My last hope for a tomato harvest is extinguished with the latest raid by the local gang of deer, who have agreed not to rough me up in exchange for "protection veggies." They rule this neighborhood with an iron hoof. Just to show they mean it, they've knocked down a sunflower and left tooth marks all over my very small watermelon.
Most of my garden this year went to feeding the deer. Beet greens, carrot tops, kohlrabi leaves, the tips of my bean plants and pepper plants, and of course every part of the tomato plants...every other week or so the deer come in and help themselves. Oscar and I put up a fairly basic scare crow a few weeks ago and that seemed to keep the deer away. I watched my tomato plants FINALLY go un-nibbled long enough to flower and grow heavy with fruit. Maybe a dozen tomatos were showing a faint shade of red...then two days ago the deer overcame their fear of our stick frame with a plastic pail for a head and laughed at it as they munched on everything.
Next year I'll have to make a tall fence around the garden. The 4 foot chain link fence around our yard is only meant to keep honest deer out. Not the theivin' kind. It doesn't even tickle their tummies as they step over it.
In other news, it's getting close to wood season again. We got to use the fireplace last Tuesday as the night temp dropped down to the 40s. We'll probably light another fire tonight. Now that the weather is cooling off I'm in gathering mode again. It's been too hot to cut these past couple months. A neighbor down the street cut down their birch tree. I asked him if he had plans for it and he said he was gonna take it out back and burn it all...but I'd save him the trouble if I took it.
So I took it. Birch smells nice when it burns.
We have enough wood to last us the winter. Now I'm trying to get get ahead for NEXT winter. Ideally I'll have a rotating stock of wood...one dries, the other BURNS! MUaaaaa ha ha ha ha haaaa...
Most of my garden this year went to feeding the deer. Beet greens, carrot tops, kohlrabi leaves, the tips of my bean plants and pepper plants, and of course every part of the tomato plants...every other week or so the deer come in and help themselves. Oscar and I put up a fairly basic scare crow a few weeks ago and that seemed to keep the deer away. I watched my tomato plants FINALLY go un-nibbled long enough to flower and grow heavy with fruit. Maybe a dozen tomatos were showing a faint shade of red...then two days ago the deer overcame their fear of our stick frame with a plastic pail for a head and laughed at it as they munched on everything.
Next year I'll have to make a tall fence around the garden. The 4 foot chain link fence around our yard is only meant to keep honest deer out. Not the theivin' kind. It doesn't even tickle their tummies as they step over it.In other news, it's getting close to wood season again. We got to use the fireplace last Tuesday as the night temp dropped down to the 40s. We'll probably light another fire tonight. Now that the weather is cooling off I'm in gathering mode again. It's been too hot to cut these past couple months. A neighbor down the street cut down their birch tree. I asked him if he had plans for it and he said he was gonna take it out back and burn it all...but I'd save him the trouble if I took it.
So I took it. Birch smells nice when it burns.
We have enough wood to last us the winter. Now I'm trying to get get ahead for NEXT winter. Ideally I'll have a rotating stock of wood...one dries, the other BURNS! MUaaaaa ha ha ha ha haaaa...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Scariest Anti-McCain Ad Ever
WARNING: This is a graphic and disturbing video, with violent images. Seriously. Do not let kids watch this. It illustrates some of the 86,864 civilian Iraqi deaths including women and children, and 4155 US Soldier deaths caused by the Iraq war...all lost for what?
At best, John McCain's "victory" in Iraq will bring the country back to where it was before we attacked it...a nation of people that resent us, with leadership eager to use that resentment as a conduit to power.
Do you want "other" wars? McCain does...
At best, John McCain's "victory" in Iraq will bring the country back to where it was before we attacked it...a nation of people that resent us, with leadership eager to use that resentment as a conduit to power.
Do you want "other" wars? McCain does...
Monday, September 8, 2008
Fear Sarah Palin
Here's a list of 9 reasons Sarah Palin CANNOT be permitted to be a heartbeat away from a 72 year old heart, especially one that has had not one but two bouts of skin cancer:
http://www.alternet.org/story/97907/sarah_palin%27s_9_most_disturbing_beliefs/
In addition to forcing rape victims to bear their rapist's fetus, she'd force a woman to carry it to term even in the case of incest regardless of age...as girls hit puberty sooner and sooner, Sarah Palin would force a 10 year old victim of domestic sexual abuse to have her own father's or brother's child...sick sick sick sick sick.
Sarah Palin wants to continue teaching abstinence only sex education, mentioning contraceptives only to illustrate their shortcomings, even as the teen pregnancy rate rises and girls get Sexually Trasmitted Diseases at an earlier and earlier age.
And let's not forget that TODAY Sarah Palin went on about how Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac have cost tax payers too much money for too long...when in fact they're Privately Held organizations.
Look...this woman CANNOT get to the White House. She's WAY outside of the Mainstream and will legislate morality whether or not it produces the desired effect.
Pass it on.
http://www.alternet.org/story/97907/sarah_palin%27s_9_most_disturbing_beliefs/
In addition to forcing rape victims to bear their rapist's fetus, she'd force a woman to carry it to term even in the case of incest regardless of age...as girls hit puberty sooner and sooner, Sarah Palin would force a 10 year old victim of domestic sexual abuse to have her own father's or brother's child...sick sick sick sick sick.
Sarah Palin wants to continue teaching abstinence only sex education, mentioning contraceptives only to illustrate their shortcomings, even as the teen pregnancy rate rises and girls get Sexually Trasmitted Diseases at an earlier and earlier age.
And let's not forget that TODAY Sarah Palin went on about how Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac have cost tax payers too much money for too long...when in fact they're Privately Held organizations.
Look...this woman CANNOT get to the White House. She's WAY outside of the Mainstream and will legislate morality whether or not it produces the desired effect.
Pass it on.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Two Lies Every Obama Supporter Needs To Counter
There are two lies we need to inoculate the electorate from:
1) The lie that Obama has done nothing
2) The lie that Obama doesn't reach across the aisle
1. Obama works his ass off for us
1399 is the number of laws Obama sponsored, co-sponsored, and authored as a US Senator alone. Memorize it. Pass it on. McCain and Palin are going across the country spreading the notion, the lie, that Barack Obama has done nothing in his three years as a US Senator.
We need to call Obama's critics on their bullshit.
Remember These Numbers
He sponsored 820 laws
He Co-Sponsored 427 laws
He Authored 152 laws
And remember, before he was a US Senator, he was a State Senator of Illinois for six years. He has 11 years experience as a statesperson.
More info can be found here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/5/04916/71376/372/587456
When Obama's detractors yell the lie "Zero" in regards to Obama's legislative recored, hammer them with those numbers.
Remember...Obama has Sponsored, Co-sponsored and WROTE 1399 laws in just 3 short years. That man works his ass off for us. He deserves respect from his opposition, and He Will Be our president.
Here's a list of some of Obama's bill's that became law
2. Obama works his ass off for us with all parties
Yes, Obama has reached across party lines...
The Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said this of Obama:
"He has admirable qualities. He does reach out. And he has a good staff, and we've worked together on a couple of things, and it's been a pleasure to work with him."
Republican Gordon Smith of Oregon says this of Obama in his own re-election ad
""Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment?....Barack Obama. He joined with Gordon and broke through a 20-year deadlock to pass new laws, which increased gas mileage for automobiles. Gov. Ted Kologoski praised their bipartisan partnership."
Spread the word.
1) The lie that Obama has done nothing
2) The lie that Obama doesn't reach across the aisle
1. Obama works his ass off for us
1399 is the number of laws Obama sponsored, co-sponsored, and authored as a US Senator alone. Memorize it. Pass it on. McCain and Palin are going across the country spreading the notion, the lie, that Barack Obama has done nothing in his three years as a US Senator.
We need to call Obama's critics on their bullshit.
Remember These Numbers
He sponsored 820 laws
He Co-Sponsored 427 laws
He Authored 152 laws
And remember, before he was a US Senator, he was a State Senator of Illinois for six years. He has 11 years experience as a statesperson.
More info can be found here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/5/04916/71376/372/587456
When Obama's detractors yell the lie "Zero" in regards to Obama's legislative recored, hammer them with those numbers.
Remember...Obama has Sponsored, Co-sponsored and WROTE 1399 laws in just 3 short years. That man works his ass off for us. He deserves respect from his opposition, and He Will Be our president.
Here's a list of some of Obama's bill's that became law
- Lugar-Obama Nonproliferation Legislation
- Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (S. 2180)
- Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission Act (S. 2259)
- Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act (S. 2261)
- Curtailing Lobbyist Effectiveness through Advance Notification, Updates, and Posting Act (S. 2179)
- Medicare Informed Choice Act (S. 1841)
- National MEDiC Act (S. 1784)
- Hospital Quality Report Card Act (S. 2359)
- Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Efficiency Act (S. 2247)
- Attacking Viral Influenza Across Nations Act (S. 969)
- Healthy Communities Act (S. 2047)
- Healthy Places Act (S. 2506)
- Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act of 2006 (S. 3822)
- Lead-Free Toys Act (S. 2048)
- Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act (S. 2053)
- Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Act (S. 508)
- Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act (S. 1151)
- Mercury Market Minimization Act (S. 3627)
- Missing Mercury in Manufacturing Monitoring and Mitigation Act (S. 3631)
- Combat Meth Act (S. 103)
- Community Oriented Policing Services (PL 109-162)
- Dru’s Law (S. 792)
- Violence Against Women Act (S. 1197)
- Chemical Safety and Security Act (S. 2486)
- Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (which became Public Law 109-144)
- Spent Nuclear Fuel Tracking and Accountability Act (S. 1194)
- Innovation Districts for School Improvement Act (S. 2441)
- Summer Term Education Programs for Upward Progress Act (STEP UP) (S. 2149)
- HOPE Act (Higher Education Opportunity Through Pell Grant Expansion Act) (S.697)
- Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act (S. 3988)
- Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere Act (SAVE Act) (S. 1180)\
- Homes for Heroes Act (S. 3475)
- Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act (S. 3988)
2. Obama works his ass off for us with all parties
Yes, Obama has reached across party lines...
- 2007 Lugar-obama transparency Act nonproliferation bill
- 2007 Coburn-obama transparency act
- 2005 legislation calling on FEMA to rebid no-bid katrina reconstruction contracts
- 2005 tax credit for safely removing lead-based paint hazards from residences
- 2006 coal-to-liquid fuel promotion act
- 2007 fair pay restoration act
- 2007 keep americans warm act
- He voted for a tort reform measure which angered trial lawyers and members of his party
- He voiced support for merit based pay for teachers, directly challenging the Teachers Union.
The Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said this of Obama:
"He has admirable qualities. He does reach out. And he has a good staff, and we've worked together on a couple of things, and it's been a pleasure to work with him."
Republican Gordon Smith of Oregon says this of Obama in his own re-election ad
""Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment?....Barack Obama. He joined with Gordon and broke through a 20-year deadlock to pass new laws, which increased gas mileage for automobiles. Gov. Ted Kologoski praised their bipartisan partnership."
Spread the word.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Sarah Palin and John McCain
It stands to be seen if Palin will create a bump for the McCain campaign...
...I've watched her speech and she had a couple of good moments, for example where she said parents of special needs children would have a friend in her. That was well played. And she initially hit on her "I'm just a regular gal" theme, also well played.
But she dropped the ball on a couple of occasions. She said she would talk about her responsibilities as Alaskan Governor...the crowd cheered. When they stopped cheering she started talking about Obama's experience as a community organizer and never picked up the thread about her duties as governor. That was her chance to clear up any speculation about her experience. In fact, rather than inform us about her own experience, she hit on Obama's inexperience...McCain's same talking points. She didn't address any of the abuse of power scandals, any of the Ted Stevens associations, or her hiring of lobbiests to secure earmarks for her town.
Mostly she shot a lot of one liners at Obama.
The post of VP is generally an Attack Dog role. From what I saw tonight, she's not going to be an effective attack dog. She's just there to prop up McCain among evangelicals and the Far Right base.
It seems like a lot of missed opportunities. Though it's not her place to lay out policy.
...I've watched her speech and she had a couple of good moments, for example where she said parents of special needs children would have a friend in her. That was well played. And she initially hit on her "I'm just a regular gal" theme, also well played.
But she dropped the ball on a couple of occasions. She said she would talk about her responsibilities as Alaskan Governor...the crowd cheered. When they stopped cheering she started talking about Obama's experience as a community organizer and never picked up the thread about her duties as governor. That was her chance to clear up any speculation about her experience. In fact, rather than inform us about her own experience, she hit on Obama's inexperience...McCain's same talking points. She didn't address any of the abuse of power scandals, any of the Ted Stevens associations, or her hiring of lobbiests to secure earmarks for her town.
Mostly she shot a lot of one liners at Obama.
The post of VP is generally an Attack Dog role. From what I saw tonight, she's not going to be an effective attack dog. She's just there to prop up McCain among evangelicals and the Far Right base.
It seems like a lot of missed opportunities. Though it's not her place to lay out policy.
Dinner
Mmm...this is good sauerkraut. I kept eating it and my grandmother said "Oh no...you can't eat it raw..."
I said "well...I've been eating it raw for days and I haven't gotten sick yet..."
She said "It's not going to HURT you. But it just tastes better if you cook it." She kindly left out "You blasted fool."
Anyway. I've cooked it and it's delicious.
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