I’m optimistic about Obama’s chances of winning in November. I’ve publicly floated a bet at work (mostly Republicans there) at a dollar an electoral vote. I take Obama, they take McCain and whatever the electoral vote tally is, the difference is what you owe. I think it is quite telling that I got no takers on it even when I dropped it to 50 cent. It tells you something when people won’t bet on their own team.
Marilyn and I watched the Vice Presidential debates last night. No real fireworks and no major stumbles, I would say both of them did slightly better than was expected. Of course, more was expected of Biden than Palin, but then it could be argued that more should be expected of him. He has way more debate experience and is much smarter.
I have had this opinion pretty much since she was announced and last night just confirmed it: She is the epitomy of an average American. She is the distillation of all those hockey (soccer) moms and Joe Sixpacks around the country. I know dozens of women just like her. I wouldn’t vote for a single one of them.
Average isn’t good enough to run a country. I want smart people in charge. She’s not that person.
All her “You are darn right”s and “You betcha”s belie a certain shallowness of thought that this country can’t afford. Marilyn made the observation that it wouldn’t be all that surprising to get a note from Palin asking if you would vote for her. Check yes or no.
Biden was good. He met my expectations almost exactly without any of the flubs he is quite capable of.
One of the things I find really interesting is the word clouds of the debate. What’s up with “also” and “going” being her big words?
My lovely wife and I are now officially not the owners of a house. Our house in North Augusta closed today. I have mixed emotions about the event. We made good money off the deal, but I loved that house. I sweated and cursed and figured out 99% of everything I know about home repair inside those walls. I’m proud of the work I did and I’m positive that visitors to the house will be impressed by my work for years to come.
Oh, and the dude that bought the house? Complete jerk. His checks cashed, though, and that’s what matters I suppose.
Not being ones to sit idly by, we have already made an offer on another house. It’s a 1960’s ranch house that needs a bit of updating. Sound familiar? I thought so. Let’s do it again!
I was pondering the bailout bill today and realized that I have an inherent conflict of interest in the matter and therefore won’t be commenting much.
I think handing Wall Street (or anybody for that matter) $700 billion is just plain stupid. Taking the risk out of financial markets removes the only downside to making stupid loans at historically low rates. And it doesn’t do a single thing to stop the foreclosures that are wreaking havoc on our country.
That having been said, I am now in the market for a house. The more foreclosures, the better for me and my family, as it increases the supply and lowers the price of the available houses. A giddy and cash-flush financial market will mean low rates on new mortgages. Win-win for me and mine.
For perhaps the first time in my life, what is good for America and middle-class Americans, at least in the short term, isn’t in my best interest.
So, to all the Congress critters out there, if you are gonna do something stupid, do something stupid for me.
Paul Newman passed away Friday. I make no bones in my proclamation that Cool Hand Luke is the finest bit of cinema ever produced. That’s not my opinion, that’s pure fact. It’s a fact like the sun comes up in the East, like the Earth is round, and like Jesus loved everything, especially the dinosaurs.
Paul Newman was a class act and anybody that makes a list of best films has to include several of his. If you listed the best actors of all time and he wasn’t in the top 3, you should be pinched. Hard. The work that he did made people’s lives better. Lord knows, I’ve spent many an hour watching his movies and forgetting my problems.
Goodbye, Paul. You are loved and you will be missed.
Yesterday was Johnny Appleseed’s birthday, today is Jonny OneSock’s 3rd birthday.
Happy birthday, little man. I love you.
I’m a little disappointed that John McCain decided to show up for the Presidential debate. I was looking forward to watching Obama debate an empty chair. I’m sure the chair would have just sat there, but it is better than watching McCain lie there.
If you are wondering about the tax plans put forth by the presidential candidates, look no further, The Washington Post has an easy to read chart that lays it all out.
Two things tell me all I need to know. First, Obama’s plan raises some taxes and lowers others, effectively balancing it out, while McCain’s just lowers taxes and does nothing to replace the revenue (thereby exacerbating the deficit problem). Second, Obama’s plan raises taxes on his bracket while McCain’s plan saves the biggest cut for his income range.
Who is willing to sacrifice and who isn’t? That’s all I need to know.
If you think that officials should get a vote because of how much beer you could guzzle with them or because they have good “values”, you have got to read this. It is quite the eye-opener.
I show this because I think that many people fall in love (or hate) with a word while forgetting what it actually means. Republicans have fallen in love with the word “deregulate” without understanding what happens when you actually deregulate something. By regulating commerce, you take out some of the volatility of a market. Sure, you limit the number of outrageous gains that can be made in an unregulated environment, but you also get rid of the downswings that end in market crashes (and massive taxpayer bailouts). Regulation is not a bad thing, per se. Inept or incompetent regulation is bad, of course, but that’s why you should elect smart people to positions of oversight. Regulation of industries and markets are not the problem. It’s the people who are too lazy, too stupid or too greedy to engage in the oversight properly that are the problem.
It would take a fool or a madman to argue that the regulations that require infant formula to be of a certain quality are bad. Or that the regulations that removed lead from paint and gas are not needed. Those are situations that volatility is unacceptable, it can’t be good one day and bad the next, because the bad makes people die.
Taking the volatility out of the financial markets is comparable in my opinion. Lives and livelihoods depend on stability in these markets. If that means Joe Billionaire can’t get a 400 million dollar bonus, I can live with that.
Regulation is not a bad thing. Stupid regulators are a bad thing. Elect smart people and your problem is solved.
