It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything, and I hate being inatentive to my microcosm on the internet, so here we go....
On the Financial Mess...
Don't get it twisted, this bailout is not the end-all answer, but it's definitely a necessary step to restarting the US economy. It isn't going to stop foreclosures (nor should it) which means that housing prices will continue to fall for a while. The banking industry will consolidate further with failures and acquisitions over the next year or so, and the face of the US economy will be drastically different thereafter. It's bound to be an interesting ride going forward; it's already been pretty crazy since the rollercoaster started a year ago.
On Politics...
This election season is so played out.
On the Local Tip...
Vivan Los Doyers! The Blue Crew is headed to the postseason atop the NL West! What true Angelino isn't excited about that!?! Gotta love baseball in October, it's a nice Seguay to opening nite on the 29th, I'll let y'all stew on that one.
And those gloomy October mornings are already here, and it's not even the 1st yet!!! Geez, thought I was going to have a nice beach day on Saturday....DENIED!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Dumbing down the campaign trail....
While Sarah Palin's lipstick comment at the RNC was cute, firey, and funny, is a joke or makeup really a reason to support a candidate? Anyway, skin-deep loyalties asside, I just hope this lady meant to have her shirt spelled as such...though I don't get it if she did.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Any Takers?
I hear that Exxon sells much higher quality gas, worth paying a serious premium for. Maybe you'd like some, too. Check out the link, and thanks again to the Road Sage for taking the time to call attention to this.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/09/come-and-get-it.html
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/09/come-and-get-it.html
Friday, September 05, 2008
The politics of saying big things and yet nothing at all
Is anyone else pissed off by election season this go-around? Without a doubt, the last eight years have been really crappy for most all of us, and I'm pretty sure that everyone can agree that America isn't in the same position it was 10 years ago, when spirits were probably higher than they've ever been and everyone was in an SUV frenzy. Stocks were soaring and the American people were prospering. Uh oh, 'is he about to give a Democrat's pitch?' No, nor am I going to give a Republican one. I'm not a fan of partisan politics, I think they're counterproductive.
But this election's season is turning out like almost every other. Accusatory remarks and generalizations of platforms promising the People everything....from BOTH sides. Then listen to each opposing party's message and they're conveying that the other candidate is promising the OPPOSITE of what was said. How is this helpful?
I for one, would like some actually informative remarks. I did hear a solid statement from John McCain last night, however. He said that if elected president, he will double the dependednt child tax credit from $3,500 to $7,000. I know that people near and dear to me would benefit significantly from the implemententation of that plan. However, so as not to sound biased (because I'm not, I still haven't made up my mind how I'm voting yet), I was perplexed when the same candidate said that Barack Obama's plan was to raise taxes. I'm pretty sure that I heard Mr. Obama say that he wanted to cut taxes for 95% of all Americans. So I'm confused; are the Republican charges categorically false? Probably not, because nothing in politics ever is, but what are the taxes they believe he intends to raise? And on the flip side, what are the taxes he plans to cut? When you can throw out a number like 95% of the population, you'd better be able to explain that figure to me, otherwise I'm going to think you're just blowing smoke up my ass, which I'm not the biggest fan of.
Long story short and to summarize my point....unless these two candidates stop the BS and start talking issues and more specifically on how they plan to help the people and change the country, then McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, is correct in saying the election would be decided more by voters' views about the candidates' personalities than about issues.
And Mr. Obama, if you believe that your personality is really not why you think you're going to get elected into the oval office, then let's start putting some SERIOUS substance in your speeches and start talking to the American people about them, not John McCain. We don't know you so well, Mr. Obama, but we really would like to, honestly. Just be a true leader and explain to us what specific actions you are going to take in order to achieve the change you are promising. And I don't want to hear that you're going to cut taxes and spend money on programs without telling me how you plan to fund these programs. It's basic math; you can't take in less money and go out and spend more without going deeper into debt, which the average Ameircan is feeling pretty adverse to at this point, given the credit crunch and all.
Okay, end rant. Begin with the info gathering!
But this election's season is turning out like almost every other. Accusatory remarks and generalizations of platforms promising the People everything....from BOTH sides. Then listen to each opposing party's message and they're conveying that the other candidate is promising the OPPOSITE of what was said. How is this helpful?
I for one, would like some actually informative remarks. I did hear a solid statement from John McCain last night, however. He said that if elected president, he will double the dependednt child tax credit from $3,500 to $7,000. I know that people near and dear to me would benefit significantly from the implemententation of that plan. However, so as not to sound biased (because I'm not, I still haven't made up my mind how I'm voting yet), I was perplexed when the same candidate said that Barack Obama's plan was to raise taxes. I'm pretty sure that I heard Mr. Obama say that he wanted to cut taxes for 95% of all Americans. So I'm confused; are the Republican charges categorically false? Probably not, because nothing in politics ever is, but what are the taxes they believe he intends to raise? And on the flip side, what are the taxes he plans to cut? When you can throw out a number like 95% of the population, you'd better be able to explain that figure to me, otherwise I'm going to think you're just blowing smoke up my ass, which I'm not the biggest fan of.
Long story short and to summarize my point....unless these two candidates stop the BS and start talking issues and more specifically on how they plan to help the people and change the country, then McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, is correct in saying the election would be decided more by voters' views about the candidates' personalities than about issues.
And Mr. Obama, if you believe that your personality is really not why you think you're going to get elected into the oval office, then let's start putting some SERIOUS substance in your speeches and start talking to the American people about them, not John McCain. We don't know you so well, Mr. Obama, but we really would like to, honestly. Just be a true leader and explain to us what specific actions you are going to take in order to achieve the change you are promising. And I don't want to hear that you're going to cut taxes and spend money on programs without telling me how you plan to fund these programs. It's basic math; you can't take in less money and go out and spend more without going deeper into debt, which the average Ameircan is feeling pretty adverse to at this point, given the credit crunch and all.
Okay, end rant. Begin with the info gathering!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Check this out....
Okay, so I'm a bit of a financial markets nerd, so I found this on one of my finance websites, but this is hilarious!
Thanks for the Shout!
The good Road Sage over at the LA Times is an excellent purveyour of Southland traffic knowledge, and it's an honor to be involved with a part of his work. Check it out!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/09/these-are-bike.html
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/09/these-are-bike.html
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Those Crazy Russians
Okay, let's get it out there; the recent Russian 'liberation' of South Ossettia and Abkhazia is rather unnerving. Not that I don't see what they are doing, and it's pretty smart. It's just their approach that's flawed is all, which makes me think that something else is up.
Think about it....Bush wanted to get us into Iraq and get Saddam out. Critics say he wanted the oil, and more critics looked at it as invading the sovereign country of Iraq. The Black Sea area is ripe with oil and natural gas distribution and production, and Russia has stood behind its actions as helping the people of S. Ossettia and Abkhazia while the rest of the world looks at it as an invasion. Parallels? Bush cried WMD, Medvedev is crying ethnic cleansing. Only difference is that Bush tried to direct attention to the WMD issue before going into Iraq, and that's where Russia has muddied itself with the rest of the West. Immediate unilateral military action without first saber-rattling is uncouth in Western Politics these days. But are we really going to descend into Cold War II over a misjudged communication slip?
One thing is for sure, though. This little sqwabble is most likely going down in history as a large bullett point in what will probably known as "The Energy Revolution." Who cares who is right and who is wrong and which state is sovereign, etc. What matters is that the Russians screwed up. The United States, led by people like T. Boone Pickens, who has more than a little influence over a good part of American aristocracy, has begun changing its habits. As this energy shift gains steam, it won't matter that China's energy need grows by a high percentage...in shear numbers, American consumption will decrease world consumption of oil as we switch to solar, wind, and natural gas, of which we have an abundance of all. Good luck propping up $100 barrells of oil when nobody wants or needs them anymore. So hang on for Cold War II, the Russians have gone short-sighted again, shooting themselves in the foot on the way to another economic bust. Moscow awoke from the coma of communism only to find that it was on life support, but apparently doesn't believe it and is about to pull its own plug. Crazy Russians!
Think about it....Bush wanted to get us into Iraq and get Saddam out. Critics say he wanted the oil, and more critics looked at it as invading the sovereign country of Iraq. The Black Sea area is ripe with oil and natural gas distribution and production, and Russia has stood behind its actions as helping the people of S. Ossettia and Abkhazia while the rest of the world looks at it as an invasion. Parallels? Bush cried WMD, Medvedev is crying ethnic cleansing. Only difference is that Bush tried to direct attention to the WMD issue before going into Iraq, and that's where Russia has muddied itself with the rest of the West. Immediate unilateral military action without first saber-rattling is uncouth in Western Politics these days. But are we really going to descend into Cold War II over a misjudged communication slip?
One thing is for sure, though. This little sqwabble is most likely going down in history as a large bullett point in what will probably known as "The Energy Revolution." Who cares who is right and who is wrong and which state is sovereign, etc. What matters is that the Russians screwed up. The United States, led by people like T. Boone Pickens, who has more than a little influence over a good part of American aristocracy, has begun changing its habits. As this energy shift gains steam, it won't matter that China's energy need grows by a high percentage...in shear numbers, American consumption will decrease world consumption of oil as we switch to solar, wind, and natural gas, of which we have an abundance of all. Good luck propping up $100 barrells of oil when nobody wants or needs them anymore. So hang on for Cold War II, the Russians have gone short-sighted again, shooting themselves in the foot on the way to another economic bust. Moscow awoke from the coma of communism only to find that it was on life support, but apparently doesn't believe it and is about to pull its own plug. Crazy Russians!
Wait, where'd August Go!?!
Uh, time flies when you're having fun? Yeah, that's what I'm going with. Not that I'm sure that anyone reads this (I hardly do, so I can't blame anyone) but let me appologize for being a horrible ammature blogger and letting the entire month of August elapse without so much as a peep from this page. I have, though, begun watching television's greatest show, and have an example of how to conduct a blog. How great is Californication, by the way? I never really liked David Duchoveny, but I do now; Hank's the man!
And now that it's September, I've got a few things stored up to talk about and some material to share, so perhaps I'll actually be able to pay a little more attention here and not be such a terrible blog host.
Now back to your regularly scheduled internet surfing in search of additional methods of procrastination.
And now that it's September, I've got a few things stored up to talk about and some material to share, so perhaps I'll actually be able to pay a little more attention here and not be such a terrible blog host.
Now back to your regularly scheduled internet surfing in search of additional methods of procrastination.
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