In light of the heaviness, I thought that I'd give an outside the box idea on the financial crisis and what we can do to solve it this election year.
Everybody vote Russian! Russian you say? Yes, Russian. Putin and his little lapdog Medvedev for ruler of the USA! A bad idea? Think about it.
What did Putin do to the billionaire owner of the (now) Russian oil company? Hit him with trumped up charges, sent him to jail and nationalized the company! Think that guy got a golden parachute? Not likely!
Upset with the fat cats that have destroyed your retirement fund? Vote Russian! Its assured that Putin and Medvedev would come in and take care of the problem. Sure, it might not be so good for the guys at the top, but I say screw them! Since when did they care about us? I mean really, for the average American right now we're pretty politically handicapped anyway, why not give it over to a totalitarian "democracy?" Can it be any worse?
Vote Russian this November and revel in the glory of ages past! No more do we have to hide in shame our disgraceful actions in Souteast Asia or South America! It was all part of a glorious battle for supremecy, won by our new leaders!
Vote Russian and enjoy all the benefits of a dictatorship, while still being able to have some choices in your life. Like, do you want Stoli or Smirnoff?
Putin and Medvedev! They will fix this mess, or at least shoot some of those responsible. I mean, reeducate. Yeah, reeducate with a 7.62mm to the skull.....
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
It'll get worse before it gets better...
Yes folks, this campaign and economy are going to get much worse before it gets any better. Thank God the campaign only has a month left. The economy we're going to be stuck with for much much longer.
John McCain has given up in Michigan, citing the bad economy and his campaign's dwindling funds as reasons. He can now focus more heavily on other "must win" states such as Ohio.
Good luck with that John. If you're conceding Michigan because the spiraling economic climate is turning voters against you there, I don't think you'll have much more luck in Ohio. I might be wrong, but I don't see that changing. These economic woes have been building for years, but for 6 of the last 8 of those years the Republicans controlled both the legislative and executive branches. Oh, and remember that under Clinton (who carries some culpability as well) the Republicans had plenty of legislative power as well.
So, if you're McCain, you have to be concerned at this point. Who besides the party faithful are going to vote for you? What would lead anyone to think that the party you represent, the ideals you stand for, are good for the country? This is not because I think Obama and the Democrats have all the answers, I don't think they do. But it is obvious the Republicans have no answers at all.
Remember the quote "It's the economy, stupid?" Well, that's true again! And the stupid government with their stupid bailout have assured us that the American people will be paying and paying for years.
Does this mean I think a "bailout" wasn't necessary? No, I think something did need to be done to shore up the banks. Having one bank after another fail would be bad. Giving billions to people who already screwed up once, that's bad too.
At this point, I really don't know what the American people are to do. I suppose I could hope they will realize the 2 party system is failing this country. But they won't. I suppose I could hope they could realize that we desparately need term limits on our Congresspersons and a ban on working as a lobbyist for 10 years after leaving office. But they won't.
Why won't they? Because the parties won't let those discussions arise. They will put politics over the people and the people aren't smart enough to realize this. Where is the public outcry about the lack of true choice in our political system? Where are the news stories digging into how both the Republican and Democratic parties work together to insure that legitimate contending parties don't arise? You think it doesn't happen?
It takes far more petition signatures to get "independant" or "new party" canidates on the ballot. Don't believe me? Check out this, which breaks down the numbers necessary to get a candidate on the ballot. Now, I realize, we can't have 30 parties running for one seat. But it would be hard for lots of the little parties to get the 600 signatures anyway. What's wrong with have 5 people running? Is that going to break us? No. It wouldn't.
How does all this, McCain, the economy, third party ranting tie together? Its simple. The current system is broken. It is broken by the people we have entrusted to work within it. Republican or Democrat, it shouldn't matter. If you love your country you should want it's political system to work. It isn't working now. It is breaking our economy, our freedom, and many of the ideals America was founded on.
It's only going to happen if the people stand up and cry out. Vote for your party, that's fine. But let's get some real choice out there. Please?
John McCain has given up in Michigan, citing the bad economy and his campaign's dwindling funds as reasons. He can now focus more heavily on other "must win" states such as Ohio.
Good luck with that John. If you're conceding Michigan because the spiraling economic climate is turning voters against you there, I don't think you'll have much more luck in Ohio. I might be wrong, but I don't see that changing. These economic woes have been building for years, but for 6 of the last 8 of those years the Republicans controlled both the legislative and executive branches. Oh, and remember that under Clinton (who carries some culpability as well) the Republicans had plenty of legislative power as well.
So, if you're McCain, you have to be concerned at this point. Who besides the party faithful are going to vote for you? What would lead anyone to think that the party you represent, the ideals you stand for, are good for the country? This is not because I think Obama and the Democrats have all the answers, I don't think they do. But it is obvious the Republicans have no answers at all.
Remember the quote "It's the economy, stupid?" Well, that's true again! And the stupid government with their stupid bailout have assured us that the American people will be paying and paying for years.
Does this mean I think a "bailout" wasn't necessary? No, I think something did need to be done to shore up the banks. Having one bank after another fail would be bad. Giving billions to people who already screwed up once, that's bad too.
At this point, I really don't know what the American people are to do. I suppose I could hope they will realize the 2 party system is failing this country. But they won't. I suppose I could hope they could realize that we desparately need term limits on our Congresspersons and a ban on working as a lobbyist for 10 years after leaving office. But they won't.
Why won't they? Because the parties won't let those discussions arise. They will put politics over the people and the people aren't smart enough to realize this. Where is the public outcry about the lack of true choice in our political system? Where are the news stories digging into how both the Republican and Democratic parties work together to insure that legitimate contending parties don't arise? You think it doesn't happen?
It takes far more petition signatures to get "independant" or "new party" canidates on the ballot. Don't believe me? Check out this, which breaks down the numbers necessary to get a candidate on the ballot. Now, I realize, we can't have 30 parties running for one seat. But it would be hard for lots of the little parties to get the 600 signatures anyway. What's wrong with have 5 people running? Is that going to break us? No. It wouldn't.
How does all this, McCain, the economy, third party ranting tie together? Its simple. The current system is broken. It is broken by the people we have entrusted to work within it. Republican or Democrat, it shouldn't matter. If you love your country you should want it's political system to work. It isn't working now. It is breaking our economy, our freedom, and many of the ideals America was founded on.
It's only going to happen if the people stand up and cry out. Vote for your party, that's fine. But let's get some real choice out there. Please?
Friday, October 3, 2008
Communism doesn't work....
Continuing the greed theme, I just want to preface this with, I am not a communist nor a socialist. I don't know how you classify me politically, but I don't hold to any single political ideology.
As the financial sector continues to crumble back to normality, because lets face it, it grew so much do to bad loans, this is a good time for Christians to evaluate how they use their money. So much of this is coming out of the housing sector's bubble bursting its not even funny.
Making money and having money is not inherently evil. Dallas Willard in his "Spirt of the Disciplines" discusses this at length and shows how Christians should use their faith to manage money not just personally, but commercially as well.
So here's a proposition. What if Christian business owners really, I mean REALLY, thought about what fair wages were. If you own a business, and make, your salary, 100k a year, and your employees make 20k a year, is that right? Now I'm not saying you and your employees should all make the same amount. But I am saying, is this fair?
There can be lots of factors involved, so no sweeping pronouncements should be made. But we need to start thinking in this country about how we use and distribute our money. Does a 4 person family need a 3000+ square foot house? Really?
Do owners need to make 5 and 6 times what their employees do? Or CEOs 300-500 times? This is not a condemnation of wealth. But far too often, people only think of themselves, not their workers.
Who is going to provide affordable healthcare for workers who don't make much money? I understand its very expensive, but so is national healthcare.
My mind is racing too much to post clearly right now, but I suppose the inconsistencies just frustrate me. It is time to start looking at equitable compensation. Equitable does not mean equal, but it does mean fair. And I believe it can be done if we Christians start to adopt a Christ-like model of wealth distribution. It doesn't mean we all have to be poor. It does mean we need to look for ways to actively help the poor that aren't just handouts.
As the financial sector continues to crumble back to normality, because lets face it, it grew so much do to bad loans, this is a good time for Christians to evaluate how they use their money. So much of this is coming out of the housing sector's bubble bursting its not even funny.
Making money and having money is not inherently evil. Dallas Willard in his "Spirt of the Disciplines" discusses this at length and shows how Christians should use their faith to manage money not just personally, but commercially as well.
So here's a proposition. What if Christian business owners really, I mean REALLY, thought about what fair wages were. If you own a business, and make, your salary, 100k a year, and your employees make 20k a year, is that right? Now I'm not saying you and your employees should all make the same amount. But I am saying, is this fair?
There can be lots of factors involved, so no sweeping pronouncements should be made. But we need to start thinking in this country about how we use and distribute our money. Does a 4 person family need a 3000+ square foot house? Really?
Do owners need to make 5 and 6 times what their employees do? Or CEOs 300-500 times? This is not a condemnation of wealth. But far too often, people only think of themselves, not their workers.
Who is going to provide affordable healthcare for workers who don't make much money? I understand its very expensive, but so is national healthcare.
My mind is racing too much to post clearly right now, but I suppose the inconsistencies just frustrate me. It is time to start looking at equitable compensation. Equitable does not mean equal, but it does mean fair. And I believe it can be done if we Christians start to adopt a Christ-like model of wealth distribution. It doesn't mean we all have to be poor. It does mean we need to look for ways to actively help the poor that aren't just handouts.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Good old greed.
Jim Wallis has it right. This current crisis, like all financial crises before, comes from greed. People getting caught with dollar signs in their eyes not caring about ethics or morality, but doing whatever it takes to make a buck. Gambling with other people's money basically.
The crisis is complex. There are no simple solutions, though if some people aren't barred from working in the financial sector then we have an issue.
But my current problem isn't with the government, or even the bankers and traders who helped to precipitate this crisis, its with the church. What does the church have to do with it? Well, when was the last time you heard a sermon preached on greed? Honestly. Especially in many "evangelical" churches.
When talking to conservative christians about sins and politics, how many list greed? Not just as the top issue, but list it at all? Lots will say abortion (which is tragic), gay marriage (which while sinful is...who is this hurting again? Besides those already involved?), but greed, which is America's biggest sin usually won't get mentioned? Why not?
Well, greed is something that most people struggle with. We have a mindset in America that we are supposed be able to have what we want. A big house, a nice car, vacations, etc, etc. Are any of those things bad? Well, a big house maybe, depends on the number of kids, but really, our priorities are so "me"centric, so materialistic, that we miss out on how our collective greed as a nation is fueling these crises.
If Christians really thought about how to use their money, if greed was an issue that was hammered on about as much as others, our nation would be in a very different place. We wouldn't be so far in debt and falling farther and farther behind. We wouldn't be bailing out Wall Street (which I think needs to be done, but not in the way its going to be) and we wouldn't be wringing our hands about the economy and gas prices.
I have a question for conservative voters. Why are you so worried about tax cuts for the wealthy? Or even yourselves? What about using some of that money to help out the less fortunate, to create opportunity, to not sink our country farther in debt?
I have a question for Democratic voters. Would the Democrats be able to not just create new ways to spend income but actually revamp programs in existence to work more efficiently. We don't have enough money as it is, just spending more will not solve anything.
I don't see a lot of hope in either of the parties right now. As Wallis outlined in "God's Politics" we need a change to sweep through the people of America, THEN, and ONLY then will the politicians see fit to change their ways.
The crisis is complex. There are no simple solutions, though if some people aren't barred from working in the financial sector then we have an issue.
But my current problem isn't with the government, or even the bankers and traders who helped to precipitate this crisis, its with the church. What does the church have to do with it? Well, when was the last time you heard a sermon preached on greed? Honestly. Especially in many "evangelical" churches.
When talking to conservative christians about sins and politics, how many list greed? Not just as the top issue, but list it at all? Lots will say abortion (which is tragic), gay marriage (which while sinful is...who is this hurting again? Besides those already involved?), but greed, which is America's biggest sin usually won't get mentioned? Why not?
Well, greed is something that most people struggle with. We have a mindset in America that we are supposed be able to have what we want. A big house, a nice car, vacations, etc, etc. Are any of those things bad? Well, a big house maybe, depends on the number of kids, but really, our priorities are so "me"centric, so materialistic, that we miss out on how our collective greed as a nation is fueling these crises.
If Christians really thought about how to use their money, if greed was an issue that was hammered on about as much as others, our nation would be in a very different place. We wouldn't be so far in debt and falling farther and farther behind. We wouldn't be bailing out Wall Street (which I think needs to be done, but not in the way its going to be) and we wouldn't be wringing our hands about the economy and gas prices.
I have a question for conservative voters. Why are you so worried about tax cuts for the wealthy? Or even yourselves? What about using some of that money to help out the less fortunate, to create opportunity, to not sink our country farther in debt?
I have a question for Democratic voters. Would the Democrats be able to not just create new ways to spend income but actually revamp programs in existence to work more efficiently. We don't have enough money as it is, just spending more will not solve anything.
I don't see a lot of hope in either of the parties right now. As Wallis outlined in "God's Politics" we need a change to sweep through the people of America, THEN, and ONLY then will the politicians see fit to change their ways.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Getting it right, getting it wrong
I'm not the biggest fan of the job the FDA has been doing, so when I see them catch a problem, I'm going to applaud them for it. Ranbaxy, a generic drug manufacturer, has 2 of its plants in India that were not documenting their processes well enough. Mainly in sterility and cleaning of parts. Sort of important you would think. There is now a ban in place by the FDA on their imports.
The FDA did a good thing here. Now, it also brings up other issues. Generic drugs are by and large safe. They are the same formulation as the namebrand and having been part of different drug studies on the time release of generics (brain fungus free here!) know they are required to test them rigorously. Then its off to our overseas facility to make them! Yay!
It still seems odd to me we can't buy drugs from Canada, which has its own FDA style agency, because the FDA isn't overseeing it, when there are thousands of plants around the world the FDA can't police. One would think that buying drugs from Canada would actually make the FDA's job easier as then some of the workload would be taken off of them. Oh well, good work FDA on picking up this problem and stopping it.
Now for a bit of government gone wrong. Is there anyone still out there that thinks total deregulation is a good idea anymore? Things are ugly in the financial sector. While that doesn't directly effect all of us yet, it will. Just do the math on how long it will take to earn back what your 401K has lost lately. Just remember, if it goes down 15% in a year, you'd need to make back about 20-22% the next year just to be where you would be. Depressing huh? But that's what you have to do to a certain extent, just ride it out.
So are we through with business policing themselves please? I know the government is incompetent, so here's what I propose. Do this for all industry. Have each one pay a fee (tax, but fee sounds better) to a semi-private watchdog agency that reports to whatever government agency oversees the sector, financial, energy, food, etc. The money comes direct from the companies, but from ALL the companies without any option. No lobbying would be allowed as its semi-private, but neither would "informational calls" from companies. These agencies would exist solely to watch what is being done.
They would be run as either a non-profit or as a service company. They would NOT be federally funded, the money would go directly to their budgets. I guess I'm thinking of something like a GAO for business. We have so many little agencies that cannot do their jobs without massive political interference its effecting our country greatly. Ah well, I can dream right?
The FDA did a good thing here. Now, it also brings up other issues. Generic drugs are by and large safe. They are the same formulation as the namebrand and having been part of different drug studies on the time release of generics (brain fungus free here!) know they are required to test them rigorously. Then its off to our overseas facility to make them! Yay!
It still seems odd to me we can't buy drugs from Canada, which has its own FDA style agency, because the FDA isn't overseeing it, when there are thousands of plants around the world the FDA can't police. One would think that buying drugs from Canada would actually make the FDA's job easier as then some of the workload would be taken off of them. Oh well, good work FDA on picking up this problem and stopping it.
Now for a bit of government gone wrong. Is there anyone still out there that thinks total deregulation is a good idea anymore? Things are ugly in the financial sector. While that doesn't directly effect all of us yet, it will. Just do the math on how long it will take to earn back what your 401K has lost lately. Just remember, if it goes down 15% in a year, you'd need to make back about 20-22% the next year just to be where you would be. Depressing huh? But that's what you have to do to a certain extent, just ride it out.
So are we through with business policing themselves please? I know the government is incompetent, so here's what I propose. Do this for all industry. Have each one pay a fee (tax, but fee sounds better) to a semi-private watchdog agency that reports to whatever government agency oversees the sector, financial, energy, food, etc. The money comes direct from the companies, but from ALL the companies without any option. No lobbying would be allowed as its semi-private, but neither would "informational calls" from companies. These agencies would exist solely to watch what is being done.
They would be run as either a non-profit or as a service company. They would NOT be federally funded, the money would go directly to their budgets. I guess I'm thinking of something like a GAO for business. We have so many little agencies that cannot do their jobs without massive political interference its effecting our country greatly. Ah well, I can dream right?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I've been avoiding this.
I don't care. Honestly, I don't. Its sad but true. I have given up caring about this election! Don't believe me? Well, you're right. I do still care, but not in the traditional "I'm backing my guy" sort of way.
This political season has been frustrating me more than most. Last election (rich white guy vs. other rich white guy) was bad enough, this cycle is sinking to lows not seen since probably the 19th century when fact checking was non-existant.
Our country is in a mess and I don't see either party saying what actually needs to be done to fix it. We are spending ourselves to oblivion. We cannot keep it up. You know how if you run your credit cards up and eventually its all you can do to make the minimum payments? Yeah, we're nearing that point as a nation daily. But does either candidate say the hard truths? Nope. They have some nice ideas and such, but most of which will actually cost MORE money.
Oh, and Republicans, please don't delude yourselves this is the Democrats fault. You've had the White House for 8 years, a majority in Congress for 6 of 8 years, and you've successfully passed two of the biggest entitlement/spending programs ever, the Medicare pill plan, and No Child Left Behind. Oh, and got the country into a war that has cost about 2 trillion dollars so far, give or take a couple billion.
I'm not a Democrat. I might vote for Obama, I might not. Living in Illinois means I don't have to worry about it much. But McCain's choice of Palin frustrates me on a number of levels.
First, it was an obvious desperation move (which just might work). Up until a few days before the Palin choice McCain was still considering Joe Lieberman, an independant Democrat but the party hacks convinced him that would sink him. So he gives up on his principles for the party, like he as so much this campaign season. (Obama has too, but McCain has a much longer record to go against.)
Second, Palin is NOT ready to run the country should McCain die in office. Obama is new, raw and under-qualified in many areas so he picks a running mate with lots of experience to shore him up. Biden can give advice to Obama if he is the president and if Obama would die in office Biden would step in ably.
McCain has the qualifications sure, but if something happens to him we would end up with a President who knows less about foreign affairs than I do! That terrifies me! Sarah Palin is a smart capable woman who has shown herself to be a quick study. But the way she talks, and it is only talk, of going to war with Russia to defend our ally Georgia is insane! I mean, I could understand a couple of old guys at the local diner saying things like that, but a VP candidate? I realize, she's raw, she's new, and she should have time to learn. But we've had 8 years of a president learning foreign policy on the fly. And he didn't surround himself with trustworthy advisors.
This is such an important election, I'm sad that I don't care like I should. Part of it is the fatalism that comes from living in Obama's home state. My vote, should it not go to him, will not matter as there is no percentage breakdown of votes. (No people, we do NOT want a popular vote. Trust me on this.) But it is also having to suffer through another Karl Rove led Republican sleaze session, that honestly McCain is better than. Obama has attempted to take the high road, and his attacks back have been whether through design or lack of experience not quite as sleazy. I just wish we could have a campaign on the real issues and have "straight talk" about the hard work that is necessary to get this country righted again.
(Oh, just a note for any conservatives out there that are happy that Palin is staunchly pro-life. Bush is too. He's appointed one of the most conservative courts ever. Have you seen a single step forward in that area? Abortion is a tragedy of massive proportions, but it is not going to go away by electing a Republican. Karl Rove just knows how to play you for your vote. Keep that in mind. You are being used. You don't have to vote for the other guy, but don't delude yourself into thinking the pro-life side will make any real changes at all. They won't.)
This political season has been frustrating me more than most. Last election (rich white guy vs. other rich white guy) was bad enough, this cycle is sinking to lows not seen since probably the 19th century when fact checking was non-existant.
Our country is in a mess and I don't see either party saying what actually needs to be done to fix it. We are spending ourselves to oblivion. We cannot keep it up. You know how if you run your credit cards up and eventually its all you can do to make the minimum payments? Yeah, we're nearing that point as a nation daily. But does either candidate say the hard truths? Nope. They have some nice ideas and such, but most of which will actually cost MORE money.
Oh, and Republicans, please don't delude yourselves this is the Democrats fault. You've had the White House for 8 years, a majority in Congress for 6 of 8 years, and you've successfully passed two of the biggest entitlement/spending programs ever, the Medicare pill plan, and No Child Left Behind. Oh, and got the country into a war that has cost about 2 trillion dollars so far, give or take a couple billion.
I'm not a Democrat. I might vote for Obama, I might not. Living in Illinois means I don't have to worry about it much. But McCain's choice of Palin frustrates me on a number of levels.
First, it was an obvious desperation move (which just might work). Up until a few days before the Palin choice McCain was still considering Joe Lieberman, an independant Democrat but the party hacks convinced him that would sink him. So he gives up on his principles for the party, like he as so much this campaign season. (Obama has too, but McCain has a much longer record to go against.)
Second, Palin is NOT ready to run the country should McCain die in office. Obama is new, raw and under-qualified in many areas so he picks a running mate with lots of experience to shore him up. Biden can give advice to Obama if he is the president and if Obama would die in office Biden would step in ably.
McCain has the qualifications sure, but if something happens to him we would end up with a President who knows less about foreign affairs than I do! That terrifies me! Sarah Palin is a smart capable woman who has shown herself to be a quick study. But the way she talks, and it is only talk, of going to war with Russia to defend our ally Georgia is insane! I mean, I could understand a couple of old guys at the local diner saying things like that, but a VP candidate? I realize, she's raw, she's new, and she should have time to learn. But we've had 8 years of a president learning foreign policy on the fly. And he didn't surround himself with trustworthy advisors.
This is such an important election, I'm sad that I don't care like I should. Part of it is the fatalism that comes from living in Obama's home state. My vote, should it not go to him, will not matter as there is no percentage breakdown of votes. (No people, we do NOT want a popular vote. Trust me on this.) But it is also having to suffer through another Karl Rove led Republican sleaze session, that honestly McCain is better than. Obama has attempted to take the high road, and his attacks back have been whether through design or lack of experience not quite as sleazy. I just wish we could have a campaign on the real issues and have "straight talk" about the hard work that is necessary to get this country righted again.
(Oh, just a note for any conservatives out there that are happy that Palin is staunchly pro-life. Bush is too. He's appointed one of the most conservative courts ever. Have you seen a single step forward in that area? Abortion is a tragedy of massive proportions, but it is not going to go away by electing a Republican. Karl Rove just knows how to play you for your vote. Keep that in mind. You are being used. You don't have to vote for the other guy, but don't delude yourself into thinking the pro-life side will make any real changes at all. They won't.)
Monday, September 8, 2008
A win is a win...
Well, the Bears did it. They beat the Colts in convincing fashion. That's good. Always good to start off with a win against one of the top teams in the league, even if they are a bit beat up. I am NOT complaining!
I'll start with what impressed me:
Defense, our defense was good! We put pressure on Manning, and we created turnovers. We tackled! It looked like our 2006 defense making hits and taking the ball away very good.
Special Teams, always good.
Offense: The O-line was good, Forte is very good, and our TEs are good. Orton also did fine, nothing fancy, but no screw-ups. That's ok.
Now, what concerns me. Our wide recievers, or lack of them. Unless we throw to our TEs a LOT (which we should) I'm concerned we won't really have a passing game which means we soon won't have a running game.
That said, well, we won, against the Colts! Yay!! I'm looking forward to how the year turns out.
I'll start with what impressed me:
Defense, our defense was good! We put pressure on Manning, and we created turnovers. We tackled! It looked like our 2006 defense making hits and taking the ball away very good.
Special Teams, always good.
Offense: The O-line was good, Forte is very good, and our TEs are good. Orton also did fine, nothing fancy, but no screw-ups. That's ok.
Now, what concerns me. Our wide recievers, or lack of them. Unless we throw to our TEs a LOT (which we should) I'm concerned we won't really have a passing game which means we soon won't have a running game.
That said, well, we won, against the Colts! Yay!! I'm looking forward to how the year turns out.
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