35 Days til?

More of the same. More of the "Blame Game" concerning Wall Street and more of my favorite governor, Alaska Gov. Sarah "You journalist think Alaska is in another country" Palin.

I hope we survive until the election. I really don't think anyone has a clue how to answer this crisis and if they did, we couldn't agree long enough to make it work. The bottom line is no matter what we do, it took years to get in this mess and it will take a while for the economy to recover.

I think Thursday's debate will be a show. I know Sen Biden has issues with over talking and sometimes does it with a foot in his mouth. I wonder how the Alaska governor can talk with no thoughts in her head as opposed to foot in mouth. If she is able to make it through 90 minutes without imploding I will be shocked. What if they ask her a tough question, like describe how you would fix the credit crisis and how does this differ from what is on the table or Why did it take Sen McCain 22 hours to get from New York to Washington when we were in crisis and why did he stop to have a gourmet meal on the way. Stay tuned and don't you dare touch that dial!

36 Days Til ?

Today may have been one of the most bizarre that I have ever live through. First Senator McCain has a press conference and says a deal is done and how wonderful it is that he made this happen. Then the deal doesn't happen and it is Sen. Obama's fault. Then after Sen. Obama advises that we need to put politics behind us and make a deal happen, Sen "I really don't know what I think" McCain calls for a deal.

The sum total of this is a 777 point melt down of the stock market. What does this mean to me? Probably not a lot as I figure to work til I die, but to many people it means the loss of a lifetime of work and savings. It is the culmination of years of greed and stupidity and we are all paying for it.

On another point, I can give you a great idea for a debate: Lets have Sen. McCain debate himself and his VP candidate, Sen. Sarah "I was only talking to a voter so it doesn't count as a quote" Phalin. They seem to switch sides and have different opinions on many fronts and since neither really cares about the truth, it should be a rousing good time.

On a sad note, my big dog is not feeling well and I am very concerned for him. Hope Murray feels better tomorrow

37 Days Til?

I refer back to my comments on remembering history and the S&L collapse in the early 90's. I am speaking specifically about the Keating 5 and one of its most infamous members, none other than Sen. John McCain. He was not convicted of wrong-doing, but was chastised for making bad decisions. Now the Senator was in his 50's at the time this occurred and you would think by then he would have a strong enough sense of right and wrong to make the right choices. He didn't then, he didn't with his support of POTUS Bush and Iraq. He didn't with his support of deregulating the banking community and he didn't with his choice of a running mate, Gov Sarah "I'll get back to you on that" Palin.

If this is the mans track record, lets send him back to Arizona to live out his days in obscurity and not send him to the Whitehouse. I know Sen. Obama has his failings and there are many questions in my mind about him but on the issue of Republican Sen. John McCain my mind is made up.

38 Days til

The debate did nothing to change my mind. I don't think Sen. McCain has a grasp of the difficulties facing our economy. I think he focuses on a narrow vision and the big picture is too much for him. I wish both men had been forthcoming about their plans for dealing with the aftermath of the bail-out. What are we going to cut to pay for it? How are we going to reduce our debt? Can we have a fair tax-code? Are the lobbyists going to continue to control our government?

I think Sen Obama held his own in the foreign policy section. He did agree with McCain on several issues and this will hurt him but he got in a few shots including "a person with good judgement would have never had us in Iraq to begin with." He is correct that the surge is a tactic and is being used to reach a strategic priority: getting us some breathing room to get the he:: out of Iraq. I felt McCain made a blunder on his section about the bracelet. Yes it was touching, but if I were a family member of a VietNam vet, I would be upset with his characterization that their deaths had been in vain. They served their country as bravely as any soldier and just because the final object was not attained, he was diminishing them. Same with Korea. He should know better. And finally, he has been no friend to veterans. He is rated near the bottom in veterans affairs by the veterans themselves!

I think it was close but for Obama that is a win. He is ahead and he didn't need a big night, Sen McCain did.

I wonder how Gov. Sarah "I can see Russia from Alaska and that makes me a foreign affairs expert" Palin will fair Friday?

40 Days til?

I don't know what kind of Presidential candidate can't make a phone call and tell a TV host the truth. How hard can it be to say "Dave, I know that I am supposed to be at your place taping a show now but I have got to go cover for my VP candidate. She just made a mess with Katie and I have to try and cover the gaff." He didn't say this, instead he said he had to rush to Washington to save the economy. He didn't have time to tape the show, he was leaving for the capitol immediately. Well 22 hours later, he finally made it. I know that both sides stretch the truth and take liberties with the facts but to tell such a lie to a TV host is beyond comprehension. If this is the type of character that Sen. McCain thinks is presidential then I think my mind is made up on who to vote for. This needs to be and issue. If he can't stand up to David Letterman, how will he react to a real crisis. Oh, I know "the sky is falling, the sky is falling, but you can trust me because I am a maverick and tell the truth." NOT!

42 Days til ?

Sic weeks until election day and the picture is less than crystal clear.

I have so many questions I would like to have answered but I don't think that is going to happen. How can an economy that our President, Sen McCain and Sec Paulson say is "fundamentally sound" less than 10 days ago suddenly be in crisis. If the economy was sound why does the POTUS have a team working on a crisis plan and why does the VP only show up to do arm twisting on decisions that should be made in a calm and informed manner, yelling we must do this now. The sky is falling! The sky is falling! WE DIDN'T NEED TO RUSH INTO IRAQ AND WE SHOULDN'T RUSH INTO 700 BILLION DOLLARS OF DEBT.

If after a calm discussion it is determined that we need to bail out the banks, lets do it. Lets do it with a plan that has a chance of working and can be monitored, not in something hatched by POTUS and his cronies without seeing the light of day.

I also want to hear Gov "Failin with" Palin answer some questions. I am tired of her canned speech and I am tired of photo ops. I go back to the old Wendy's commercials "Where's the beef"
All I hear are platitudes and the party line mixed with exaggerations and no substance. I will not vote for someone on sound bites alone!

Day 43 til ?

The markets felt worse than I did today. They took another tumble and the Fed and Congress wrangled over how to best bail out Wall Street.

The campaign rhetoric is up and McCain says it is all Obama's fault. If Sen. Obama has enough power to create this fiasco as a Senator in less than four years then he is a power to behold. A junior who Sen. McCain says can't handle the job of POTUS but can ruin single handed the financial markets in such a short time, remarkable.

I tend to think it is the fact that thanks to Pres. Bush and his cronies, Sen. McCain included, the fox was watching the hen house. Lets review, you put a lot of type A personalities in charge of companies, they are awarded bonuses for huge profits and no one has over site and the situation gets out of control. Imagine that
1 Its like putting a six year old in a room with a glass of milk and a jar of cookies and saying make sure you only take a few, we know we can trust you. Guess what happens, a trillion dollar buyout.

We need free markets but not without some control. Look at the melt down of the S&L's in the 90's and whats happening now. Let the markets flow but at least have someone watching the 6 year-old with the cookies. It is obvious that Sen McCain and Sarah "Failin with" Palin are not willing or capable of this.

45 Days til ?

I saw a friend at dinner this evening and we briefly discussed the presidential election. He said he was undecided on who to vote for but was looking at McCain because he has two daughters and liked the thought of them having a woman to look up to. I can understand this but not the woman who the Repubs have thrown at us.

I have women in my life that I admire and they are strong women who are intelligent and think for themselves. The difference is they don't have to impress their will on others to make their point. They think for themselves work hard and don't take credit for what others do or embellish their activities (ie lie). I am proud to call them friends, neighbors, wife and mother. I trust their judgement and their opinions and they are nothing like Sarah Palin. For this I will be forever greatful.

46 Days til ?

I can't remember who said it but it goes "those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it" is very close to the truth. We have Sen. McCain with his "the fundamentals of the economy are solid" speech sounding much like Herbert Hoover. He of "a chicken in every pot" and "Hooverville"(look it up) fame. We have financial markets that are teetering on the brink of collapse because of excesses and being able to run unchecked for the last 7+ years and a President who just doesn't get it. Not sure what role he is playing in all this.

I am of course referring to the "Great Depression" that held our county in its grips for over a decade and some rural areas, even longer. There were rules put in place at that time to make sure such a collapse couldn't happen again and yet due to some very short-sighted, right wing politicians, who removed the oversight of our nations banking system, here we are again. You would think we would have learned our lesson but with a presidential candidate that isn't sure where Spain is and that they are an ally in NATO, I am sure history doesn't matter. Reality is obviously different when you have a rich wife, more houses than you can count and even at his advanced age makes important decisions based on how the opposite sex looks than how they can function.

I hope the bail-out plan takes hold. I'm not sure America can withstand another depression and I am quite sure we can not stand 4 more years of Bush, brought to you via the McCain and "Failin with" Palin ticket.

47 Days til ?

So today I heard GOP Presidential candidate John McCain give us a geography lesson. Per the
Senator from Arizona (which is in this hemisphere) Spain is in it as well. Latin America to be exact. Maybe when he was a young man (before continental drift took place) it was but now, not so much. He also gave the impression that Spain which is in NATO and sent troops to support us in our legal efforts in Afghanistan is possibly not and ally? What world does he live in. Oh I know, it is the one where it is OK to abandon your first wife who is injured and in need of care, to marry an heiress. It is the world where President Bush has a high approval rating and should be supported. It is a world where Gov Sarah (Failin with) Palin is ready to hold the office of VP of the United States, but it is not my world.

He is so out of touch that he probably doesn't know that Francisco Franco is still dead.

In other news, it is OK to ignore supeno's if you are "First Dude" of Alaska but if you or I do it, we go to jail. It is OK to wire tap and read other peoples email if your are in President Bush's world but it is an outrage and someone should go to jail if it happens to a VP candidate who is using such emails in a questionable manner anyway (to possibly avoid the freedom of information act concerning public documents.) Don't you just love double standards.

I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings. Maybe those pigs wearing lipstick will fly or not.

48 Days til ?

We saw more news today of what Sen. McCain's fundamentally strong economy looks like. AIG was bailed out to the tune of $85 Billion. If this is a sound economy, I don't want to see a recession. Oh but wait, now it isn't strong, we are in a crisis and Sen. McCain is says he is good in a crisis.

He should not be allowed to play both sides of this. He has been a US Senator for 26 years. He has been one of the power brokers who was in charge of not overseeing this mess and now we are supposed to let him be in charge of cleaning it up. I don't think so! We can't wait for his "Blue Ribbon Panel" to determine what is wrong and make recommendations to fix it! By the time this takes place, it is very possible he will have forgotten what the problem is.

In another very interesting twist, I saw today that Sarah "Fallin with Palen" has as six of her top advisers, employees that were.....now wait for it.... recently employed by our Commander in Chief George "Mission Accomplished" Bush. Now in all fairness, she needs some help to get up to speed on what is happening in Washington, because Alaska is a long ways from DC but why would someone who wants to be a Maverick bring on these hired guns. This is just more of the same.
I hope the numbers that I have seen today are the start of a trend and the bounce to the McCain/ Palin ticket is deflated and we at least have hope that something fresh can be bought to the Whitehouse.

49 Days to ?

I have been watching the run-up to the presidential campaign very intently. If we once again fall for the Republican game playing and rhetoric then we deserve four more years of what Pres. Bush has delivered. From the selection of Sarah failing with Palin, to the speech today that our economy is fundamentally sound, it is obvious that Sen. McCain is out of touch with reality.

Mrs. Palin has more questions surrounding her than a round of Double Jeopardy. If it is true that she got on a plane and flew 8 hours to have a baby in Alaska after her water broke then I question her judgement. If she said she did and it wasn't true she is a liar. In this case I am not sure which is worse. Then three days after delivering a baby with special needs, she is back at work? I once again question her priorities and her judgement.

She may be a fine person but everything I am able to find shows her to be mean spirited, vindictive and small minded. If you disagree with her or her policies, you could potentially find yourself on her list. Not a good place to be if you have a job in Alaska. I find this type of personality to be common among people who wish to be thought of as brilliant but are something else. I would rather chew on aluminum foil than be subjected to listening to anymore of her half truths and fabrications (she did not sell the jet on Ebay and she did support the bridge!) I have had pit bulls and she gives them a bad name!

I hope the Democrats get their act together and quash this threat. I for one am not sure how much more of the current prosperity we can stand. I don't blame the Republican party for all our current woes. I think people should take responsibility for their actions. I think government should only try to make sure that the playing field is level and not tipped in the favor or whoever has the biggest purse. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is what the Preamble offers and that is what we deserve.

Football Kickoff

Football season is in full swing and what a strange spread of emotions they have caused so far. I guess it is silly to invest so much time and thought in a game but I do. First my son was left off the travel squad of his DII team after starting last year. I as well as his mother were puzzled by this. How can someone with his talent and work ethic be ignored on a team that frankly hasn't shown any signs of being competitive this year. To say the least I was puzzled to say the most I was irate!

My TarHeels had a real struggle to beat McNeese State and their season really looks to be in question. Many people have pointed to them being much improved and they may be but if the first game is any indication it could be another long year for the Heels.

Hibriten HS is off to a great start. The team as a lot of speed, some really talented skill position players and pretty good chemistry. They could make some real noise come playoff time. They may struggle against big athletic teams. They play Bandys on Friday night and that game could tell a great deal about their season. Win it and they should finish well, lose and the season is a big question mark.

More on my son. After being left off the travel squad, he worked hard and was named the "Scout Team Player of the Week". To me this would be akin to kissing your cousin, OK but nothing to get all excited about. On top of this announcement, his line coach called him three times during his 8 AM class. He got in touch with him afterwards and to his and my surprise was told he would be playing center with the first team this week. He has never played center in a game situation or if he has, it has been very little. He must have made a real impression this past week. My advise to him is to go all out and leave nothing on the field. Not only this week in football but in life as well. Come to think of it I think I will take the same advise.