Just a short note about this mess that is dragging our economy into the dumps:
First Warning of the Sub Prime Mortgage Meltdown
I hope you read that and see that back in March2004 some economists were worried about the economic impact of rising interest rates on Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM). That would be 2 years BEFORE the whole thing started to crash.
Had congress and the president acted back then, we would not have been in this whole mess. But, I am sure bush and congressional leaders were heavily bribed to do nothing. It wasn't until the press got wind of the story that the wheels of congress started to move, albeit slowly.
What is the result? Raid the treasury to give a welfare check to every American, not just the ones that are losing their homes to greedy investors.
I understand the reasoning behind this decision. But, I think a welfare check does nothing to address the real problems facing the nation today: Mortgage Meltdown, Rising Oil Prices, Inflation, and the travesty in Iraq.
Sure, perhaps this $600 will help a family stall the inevitable loss of their home, but the end result is the same: they lose their home.
Perhaps this $600 will go into the gas tanks of these gluttonous, status symbol SUVs that Americans seem to be addicted to.
Perhaps this $600 will go to offset some of the increase we pay for groceries.
As for me, that $600 is going directly into my emergency fund. Even though I work in a fairly recession proof industry, one can never be too careful during a recession.
One last note. I am curious why, during the neocon "revolution" during the past 8 years, have the conservative fiscal policies gone right out the window? Why have we attacked abortion, gays, immigrants, and evolution while ignoring the fact that most Americans do not understand how to manage their personal finances?
The Republicans have switched away from being fiscal conservatives to being moral crusaders hell bent on using the Federal Government (their old nemesis) to force evangelical lunacy down the throats of the American people.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Economic Stimulus Package
Dear Uncle Sam,
While I am happy to receive your generous gift, I question your wisdom to go into debt in order to provide me with this gift.
I understand that you hope I will use this money to stimulate the economy, but that is not what I am doing with it. I will instead place this money in my savings account for the rainy day I see on the horizon.
I had hoped that when the Democrats took over congress they would institute some programs to encourage Americans to save money. So far, nothing has been done.
So, instead of pushing the very American idea of being independent and self sufficient, Uncle Sam saw fit to help Americans by making them less self sufficient and more reliant on government welfare.
Instead of raiding the treasury to "stimulate the economy", why not pass a law that will stop these forclosures in their tracks, and punish the banks, mortgage companies, and investors who have been raping American families.
Of course, this law should specifically bar induhviduals who did not actually live in the house they bought. This would keep the focus on American families, and keep real estate speculators out in the cold where they belong!
While I am happy to receive your generous gift, I question your wisdom to go into debt in order to provide me with this gift.
I understand that you hope I will use this money to stimulate the economy, but that is not what I am doing with it. I will instead place this money in my savings account for the rainy day I see on the horizon.
I had hoped that when the Democrats took over congress they would institute some programs to encourage Americans to save money. So far, nothing has been done.
So, instead of pushing the very American idea of being independent and self sufficient, Uncle Sam saw fit to help Americans by making them less self sufficient and more reliant on government welfare.
Instead of raiding the treasury to "stimulate the economy", why not pass a law that will stop these forclosures in their tracks, and punish the banks, mortgage companies, and investors who have been raping American families.
Of course, this law should specifically bar induhviduals who did not actually live in the house they bought. This would keep the focus on American families, and keep real estate speculators out in the cold where they belong!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Angola refuses to unload chinese ship with weapons headed for Zimbabwe
Angola refuses to unload chinese ship with weapons headed for Zimbabwe
It's about time the U.S. stood up for something other than oil and bible thumping lunacy.
It's about time the U.S. stood up for something other than oil and bible thumping lunacy.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
McCain camp says Hamas wants Obama
McCain camp says Hamas wants Obama
What a dirty trick. The bush style attacks have started. I wonder how many "swift boat veterans for the truth" type groups will be formed to spread misinformation about Obama. I'll bet they have a hay day spreading a lie saying he is a Muslim.
Just look at the poll from March 2008 that shows 10% respondents answered "Muslim" when asked if they could pinpoint Obama's religion. Magnify that with the lying tripe of the neocons, add in the race factor, and splash Obama's middle name "Hussein" around, and what have you got? Another election lost over the lies, spin, and misinformation of conservative swine.
I say we pull a swift boat veterans for the truth style campaign against McCain. We could certainly find some hard up disabled vietnam veterans willing to form a sham group (funded by donations) to buy air time to air ads questioning McCain's war record.
McCain, if you start these attack ads, they will come back to bite you in the ass!
What a dirty trick. The bush style attacks have started. I wonder how many "swift boat veterans for the truth" type groups will be formed to spread misinformation about Obama. I'll bet they have a hay day spreading a lie saying he is a Muslim.
Just look at the poll from March 2008 that shows 10% respondents answered "Muslim" when asked if they could pinpoint Obama's religion. Magnify that with the lying tripe of the neocons, add in the race factor, and splash Obama's middle name "Hussein" around, and what have you got? Another election lost over the lies, spin, and misinformation of conservative swine.
I say we pull a swift boat veterans for the truth style campaign against McCain. We could certainly find some hard up disabled vietnam veterans willing to form a sham group (funded by donations) to buy air time to air ads questioning McCain's war record.
McCain, if you start these attack ads, they will come back to bite you in the ass!
Weapons bound for Zimbabwe move to Angola to continue journey
I just want to say that I am elated that the unions did the right thing by refusing to unload that Chinese ship. Mugabe will only use those weapons against his political enemies. I predict that anyone who voted against or spoke out against him will disappear after those weapons arrive.
If it's not bad enough that those bastards in china are killing their own people, and funding the travesty in Darfur, they are now enabling the monster mugabe to kill his own people.
How nice that we are hindered by our own travesty in Iraq. During these 5 years, we could have challenged china in Tibet and Burma, we could have challenged mugabe in Zimbabwe, and we could have built a coalition to deal with iran. In short, we could have truly freed millions of people. Instead, we are stuck with a humanitarian, political, and military disgrace.
Oh. One more prediction. I predict that if McCain wins in November he will start a draft at some point. He publicly says that he does not support the draft. But, during one of the low points of the Iraq war, he was singing a song about "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb iran". He actually said that is what he would do if he were in power. So, he would have bombed iran, causing them to declare war, and we would have to start a draft to get the cannon fodder needed to deal with his stupidity.
So, when you go to the polls in November, just remember your little son. Do you want his life cut short by another republican blunder? Vote Democrat!
Oh, and for you nit pickers who would pick apart my post for my CaPiTaliZation, you need to know that I show disgust for a proper noun by not capitalizing it. You will find this often used with bush, china, iran, mugabe, republican. But, I always start the first letter of the first word of each sentence with a capital letter, which is why mugabe is capitalized once in this post.
I just want to say that I am elated that the unions did the right thing by refusing to unload that Chinese ship. Mugabe will only use those weapons against his political enemies. I predict that anyone who voted against or spoke out against him will disappear after those weapons arrive.
If it's not bad enough that those bastards in china are killing their own people, and funding the travesty in Darfur, they are now enabling the monster mugabe to kill his own people.
How nice that we are hindered by our own travesty in Iraq. During these 5 years, we could have challenged china in Tibet and Burma, we could have challenged mugabe in Zimbabwe, and we could have built a coalition to deal with iran. In short, we could have truly freed millions of people. Instead, we are stuck with a humanitarian, political, and military disgrace.
Oh. One more prediction. I predict that if McCain wins in November he will start a draft at some point. He publicly says that he does not support the draft. But, during one of the low points of the Iraq war, he was singing a song about "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb iran". He actually said that is what he would do if he were in power. So, he would have bombed iran, causing them to declare war, and we would have to start a draft to get the cannon fodder needed to deal with his stupidity.
So, when you go to the polls in November, just remember your little son. Do you want his life cut short by another republican blunder? Vote Democrat!
Oh, and for you nit pickers who would pick apart my post for my CaPiTaliZation, you need to know that I show disgust for a proper noun by not capitalizing it. You will find this often used with bush, china, iran, mugabe, republican. But, I always start the first letter of the first word of each sentence with a capital letter, which is why mugabe is capitalized once in this post.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Single Parents cost taxpayers $112 billion
Single Parents cost taxpayers $112 billion
So, let me get this straight. Households headed by a single female bring in less money, and there is more poverty among these households. That is true. Do they blame the pay disparities between the genders? Do they blame the high drop out rate in our schools? Do they blame the fact that their "compassionate conservative" congressional representatives saw fit to deny the minimum wage being increased by inflation? Do they blame their own aversion to birth control and abortion? Do they blame dead beat dads for abandoning their kids?
No. As always, they blame the Women.
Focus on the family is just another arm of the white stupidity (bowel) movement. They grunt out steaming logs of hatred against Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants, and the LGBT community.
These bastards are the very reason my angelic Mother worked tirelessly for years at PetsMart being passed over for promotions, and hired at a wage $2/hour less than a fat baboon male they hired only weeks later. After 9 years she was still not making $10 an hour.
Why are these "compassionate conservatives" the cause? They promote a culture of sexism, racism, and homophobia. They fund this "research", bringing in all the conservative whack jobs they can find.
I'll bet this won't be published in any peer reviewed publications. Do you want to know why? Because it won't hold up to real scrutiny.
I think there probably is a cost to the taxpayer because of single parent families. However, I believe it is caused by the issues above, not because these families are headed by Women. If these conservatives want to start enumerating the cost to taxpayers, why don't they study the following:
Cost to taxpayers because of:
Low wages (a family cannot afford to pay their bills, so the cost is absorbed by the rest of us)
War (I think this one goes without saying)
Charitable Tax Deductions (it's not charity if you receive a benefit)
High School Drop Outs (how much money are we spending on each kid that drops out of school?)
Hey Focus on the Family, why don't you study these things? Is it because the results would embarrass the corrupt politicians you have in your back pocket? Oh wait, you would probably just find some conservative loons to skew the data to blame your usual scapegoats.
So, let me get this straight. Households headed by a single female bring in less money, and there is more poverty among these households. That is true. Do they blame the pay disparities between the genders? Do they blame the high drop out rate in our schools? Do they blame the fact that their "compassionate conservative" congressional representatives saw fit to deny the minimum wage being increased by inflation? Do they blame their own aversion to birth control and abortion? Do they blame dead beat dads for abandoning their kids?
No. As always, they blame the Women.
Focus on the family is just another arm of the white stupidity (bowel) movement. They grunt out steaming logs of hatred against Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Immigrants, and the LGBT community.
These bastards are the very reason my angelic Mother worked tirelessly for years at PetsMart being passed over for promotions, and hired at a wage $2/hour less than a fat baboon male they hired only weeks later. After 9 years she was still not making $10 an hour.
Why are these "compassionate conservatives" the cause? They promote a culture of sexism, racism, and homophobia. They fund this "research", bringing in all the conservative whack jobs they can find.
I'll bet this won't be published in any peer reviewed publications. Do you want to know why? Because it won't hold up to real scrutiny.
I think there probably is a cost to the taxpayer because of single parent families. However, I believe it is caused by the issues above, not because these families are headed by Women. If these conservatives want to start enumerating the cost to taxpayers, why don't they study the following:
Cost to taxpayers because of:
Low wages (a family cannot afford to pay their bills, so the cost is absorbed by the rest of us)
War (I think this one goes without saying)
Charitable Tax Deductions (it's not charity if you receive a benefit)
High School Drop Outs (how much money are we spending on each kid that drops out of school?)
Hey Focus on the Family, why don't you study these things? Is it because the results would embarrass the corrupt politicians you have in your back pocket? Oh wait, you would probably just find some conservative loons to skew the data to blame your usual scapegoats.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Church walks the walk of King's message
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/14/jakes/index.html
Despite the fact that I am whole heartedly Atheist, I have always held Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's message and works in the highest esteem. Perhaps it is because I am "as queer as a lemon on a peach tree", and an Atheist that his message brings tears of pride and hope to my eyes.
I support Bishop T.D. Jakes in his work with the poor, and his efforts to keep Dr. King's dream alive. I do hope that some day he will realize that he is completely wrong when he calls homosexuality a "brokenness", and that he would never hire a "gay person". It's no different than when John Dixon of Mallory & Evans told me during a job interview that he "would never hire a n****r". Let me tell you more about this interview, and the subsequent retracted job offer.
During my interview with his payroll manager, she told me that his background checks are extensive, and that he could "find out if you were wearing underwear". Despite the fact that I told them about my 2005 bankruptcy (I even gave them a copy of all three credit reports), after a background check, they used my bankruptcy as the reason for retracting the job offer. I am sure that background check turned up something about my support for gay rights, and my signatures on many online petitions. Aside from this, there would have been no reason for him to retract the job offer. The company refused to release the information found during their "background check", because it was not based on anything that FCRA would cover. As such, they claimed I have no right to see the report.
My conclusion is that they retracted the job offer because I am gay. The very same way they would not even consider hiring a black person.
Some people bristle at the idea that the civil rights movement, and the gay rights movement could have anything in common. It is true that they are different. The hate is different only because racism is based on the pigment (or lack thereof) of a person's skin. Whereas homophobia is based on either a narrow interpretation of the bible, or the idea that it is somehow unnatural. They are also different in that you cannot always perceive a person's sexual orientation by looking at them. You can usually determine a person's race (or at least that they aren't the same race as you), by looking at the person. Aside from these differences, the basic emotion of hatred is still the same between racism and homophobia. The emotion is fear.
For racism: kkk, black panthers, aryan nation, nation of islam, the nazi party
For homophobia: kkk, black panthers, aryan nation, nation of islam, the nazi party
The same groups plot to murder and terrorize us for daring to challenge their views. Weather you are Black, White, Hispanic, Native American, Arab, Indian, Asian or LGBT; one or all of these groups want your head.
Despite the fact that I am whole heartedly Atheist, I have always held Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's message and works in the highest esteem. Perhaps it is because I am "as queer as a lemon on a peach tree", and an Atheist that his message brings tears of pride and hope to my eyes.
I support Bishop T.D. Jakes in his work with the poor, and his efforts to keep Dr. King's dream alive. I do hope that some day he will realize that he is completely wrong when he calls homosexuality a "brokenness", and that he would never hire a "gay person". It's no different than when John Dixon of Mallory & Evans told me during a job interview that he "would never hire a n****r". Let me tell you more about this interview, and the subsequent retracted job offer.
During my interview with his payroll manager, she told me that his background checks are extensive, and that he could "find out if you were wearing underwear". Despite the fact that I told them about my 2005 bankruptcy (I even gave them a copy of all three credit reports), after a background check, they used my bankruptcy as the reason for retracting the job offer. I am sure that background check turned up something about my support for gay rights, and my signatures on many online petitions. Aside from this, there would have been no reason for him to retract the job offer. The company refused to release the information found during their "background check", because it was not based on anything that FCRA would cover. As such, they claimed I have no right to see the report.
My conclusion is that they retracted the job offer because I am gay. The very same way they would not even consider hiring a black person.
Some people bristle at the idea that the civil rights movement, and the gay rights movement could have anything in common. It is true that they are different. The hate is different only because racism is based on the pigment (or lack thereof) of a person's skin. Whereas homophobia is based on either a narrow interpretation of the bible, or the idea that it is somehow unnatural. They are also different in that you cannot always perceive a person's sexual orientation by looking at them. You can usually determine a person's race (or at least that they aren't the same race as you), by looking at the person. Aside from these differences, the basic emotion of hatred is still the same between racism and homophobia. The emotion is fear.
For racism: kkk, black panthers, aryan nation, nation of islam, the nazi party
For homophobia: kkk, black panthers, aryan nation, nation of islam, the nazi party
The same groups plot to murder and terrorize us for daring to challenge their views. Weather you are Black, White, Hispanic, Native American, Arab, Indian, Asian or LGBT; one or all of these groups want your head.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Abortion searches blocked
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89486048
So, USAID cannot legally "support abortion activities". I don't think allowing factual data to be searched is "legally supporting" abortion. It is simply allowing people to search data.
Technically speaking, the United States Government cannot legally pass a law respecting the establishment of religion. Anti abortion sentiment is always related to an absurd belief that human life is somehow 'sacred', which is a religious belief. The fact that congress has passed a law restricting the "support" (finance) of abortions means they have broken their word when they swore to uphold the constitution.
People who disagree would say, "I don't want my tax dollars funding the killing of innocent children". Yet, most of these same people accept the loss of Iraqi children's lives as an unavoidable part of war. That sounds duplicitous at best, extremely racist at worst. They ignore their own bible where it says, "thou shalt not kill".
My moral values say that killing any animal (even humans) is wrong unless your own life (or the life of your family) is in jeopardy. Iraq was not a threat, and everyone knew it. Yet, neocons decided to "rally around" their insane president.
If the neocons can pass an unconstitutional law banning the funding of abortion because of a moral objection, I believe we should pass laws based on more anti-war morals.
Let us stop the war, bring our troops home, pay war reparations to Iraq, impeach the president and arrest him, and institute sweeping reforms to ensure such a miscarriage of justice can never again happen. Now that the president is in custody, let us give him an extraordinary rendition to a secret location outside of U.S. authority, and let them do what they wish. Of course, he would not actually be charged with a crime in the U.S.
Why? Because "I don't want my tax dollars funding the killing of innocent children".
So, USAID cannot legally "support abortion activities". I don't think allowing factual data to be searched is "legally supporting" abortion. It is simply allowing people to search data.
Technically speaking, the United States Government cannot legally pass a law respecting the establishment of religion. Anti abortion sentiment is always related to an absurd belief that human life is somehow 'sacred', which is a religious belief. The fact that congress has passed a law restricting the "support" (finance) of abortions means they have broken their word when they swore to uphold the constitution.
People who disagree would say, "I don't want my tax dollars funding the killing of innocent children". Yet, most of these same people accept the loss of Iraqi children's lives as an unavoidable part of war. That sounds duplicitous at best, extremely racist at worst. They ignore their own bible where it says, "thou shalt not kill".
My moral values say that killing any animal (even humans) is wrong unless your own life (or the life of your family) is in jeopardy. Iraq was not a threat, and everyone knew it. Yet, neocons decided to "rally around" their insane president.
If the neocons can pass an unconstitutional law banning the funding of abortion because of a moral objection, I believe we should pass laws based on more anti-war morals.
Let us stop the war, bring our troops home, pay war reparations to Iraq, impeach the president and arrest him, and institute sweeping reforms to ensure such a miscarriage of justice can never again happen. Now that the president is in custody, let us give him an extraordinary rendition to a secret location outside of U.S. authority, and let them do what they wish. Of course, he would not actually be charged with a crime in the U.S.
Why? Because "I don't want my tax dollars funding the killing of innocent children".
Friday, April 4, 2008
Gas prices
I love high gas prices. I get to stop by the gas station once a week and laugh at the morons filling up their huge SUVs.
It is a slight inconvenience for me. I do drive 35 miles each way to work. But, I drive a Toyota Camry. If I drive it right, it can get 31 mpg (about twice what these gas guzzlers get). So, overall my gas cost has gone up only about $8-$10 per week.
Then again, I don't have a mortgage on a house I cannot afford. I don't have spoiled children who hate me because I tried to buy their love rather than make time to spend with them. I don't have credit card debt up to my eyeballs. I don't have a payment for a status symbol SUV.
I live well within my means. Truth be told, I live on half of my post-tax pay. The rest goes into savings, 401k and IRA.
How many of you can say that?
It is a slight inconvenience for me. I do drive 35 miles each way to work. But, I drive a Toyota Camry. If I drive it right, it can get 31 mpg (about twice what these gas guzzlers get). So, overall my gas cost has gone up only about $8-$10 per week.
Then again, I don't have a mortgage on a house I cannot afford. I don't have spoiled children who hate me because I tried to buy their love rather than make time to spend with them. I don't have credit card debt up to my eyeballs. I don't have a payment for a status symbol SUV.
I live well within my means. Truth be told, I live on half of my post-tax pay. The rest goes into savings, 401k and IRA.
How many of you can say that?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)