Say My Name, Say My Name, Say My Name

I do not know this man nor do I know if he will or will not make a fine Republican National Commitee chairman.  What I DO know is that, for some reason, his name makes me want to run screaming into the cold dark night.  I have no explanation for that.  

Reince Priebus. 

Creepy.

.

The Most Awesome Early Show Segment Ever

(Note: Curse words edited to get this blog past dirty word filters at your office, not because I'm a nice person.)

Kathy Bates

Sheila Blair

Maggie Rodriguez

This morning on The Early Show on CBS, Harry Smith was interviewing Sheila Blair, chairman of the FDIC. Sheila looks a lot like Kathy Bates. She and Harry were doing their damnedest to assure all of us that money in federally insured banks is safe (up to $250,000, that is) and that we shouldn’t worry our pretty little heads about it because the money is “…backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. So, the money will always be there. We can't run out of money.” I’m not sure what that means exactly, but if Kathy Bates believes it, it must be true.

When the interview was over, Harry did his wrap-up and Maggie Rodriguez who was sitting next to him suddenly decided to throw a turd in the punchbowl. She informed us that she spoke to “her banker” yesterday and he told her that federally insured money is indeed safe, but there is no law stating how quickly a person will have access to their money and that it could possibly take years for people to actually get their money. Harry went pale looked at Maggie with eyes that said, “WTF, Maggie? We were trying to make everybody feel better. STFU!”

So, the producers cut to Dave Price doing the weather and when they went back to Harry, he was split screen with Kathy Bates and Kathy was pissed. Kathy/Sheila told us that if the FDIC steps in to insure your money, the transition is seamless and people can still use their ATM cards and write checks and yada, yada, yada. Piece of cake.

Not to be outdone, Maggie the Turd Thrower pressed Kathy Bates to admit that there is no time limit provision in the law saying how quickly the money must be made available to bank customers. Sheila/Kathy said, “No b*tch. There is no provision in the law about time limits, but I’m the chairman and this is how it’s done and don’t make me go all Misery on your ass and bust your ankles and sh*t.” I’m paraphrasing.

Sheila went on to say, “There are disreputable people out there like your dumbass banker ‘friend’ who are telling people it could take years to have access to their money, because they’re trying to sell people high risk insurance policies and gold coins and c-r-a-p like that.” Once again, I paraphrase.

Maggie, who obviously took a toke off the old crack pipe right before air time couldn't let it go. “Well, I’m going to make a phone call to my banker at Chase, right f-u-c-k-i-n-g now.” (She didn’t say f-u-c-k.) So, Mags caused this whole uproar, made Harry Smith go off-script, disrupted the entire Early Show, pissed off the FDIC and then decided, as an encore, to throw Chase Bank under the bus.

At that point, I had to turn off the television and get ready for work, but I imagined this going on all morning. Did the president of Chase then come on after the next commercial break to give us his two cents? Did Maggie then admit that perhaps it wasn’t her banker “friend” who gave her the bad information and that maybe it was actually Tom on MySpace who said he’d be her friend if she bought a krugerrand? Then, Tom comes on and is all, “WTF, Maggie?” and she’s banned from MySpace forever?

Would serve her right.

I'm confused

I was listening to NPR again and, as usual, I'm confused. This time, I'm confused about the economy. Part of the solution being proposed by the experts is to put more money into the system to loosen up the credit markets....so people will borrow more.

What?

I thought the problems began in the first place because people were buying homes they couldn't possibly afford, spending more than my monthly mortgage on a pair of shoes or a purse and buying cars with all the bells and whistles even though it was way outside their budget.

Now that their credit cards are maxed out and the houses are being taken back, the economy is suffering because people aren't buying things they can't afford. Being a responsible consumer is bad for the economy?

Wh-What??

Banks and credit card companies are rightfully denying loans and lowering credit card limits, which they should have been doing all along. If people don't have enough sense to do a little simple math ("I make this much money, ergo I can afford to spend that much money"), someone has to draw the line somewhere and not loan money for nonessential purposes or extend credit for luxury items to people who can't afford it. To do otherwise is criminal.

How is opening up the credit market so people can once again spend more than they earn going to make things all better?

Some Sites I Stumbled Upon Tonight

Click here to enter Your Amazing Brain.

Click here for "Sarah Palin As President."

Click here to see all kinds of stuff get microwaved.

Et tu, NPR?

I was listening to NPR this morning on my drive to work and the Market Watch segment came on. As I listened to their description of how markets all over the world are headed straight down the crapper, the announcer introduced a new segment in which a reporter travels the United States questioning people about their views on the economy.

I like to listen to NPR in the morning because their voices are so soothing. No matter what the crisis, their words and tone are always serious, yet never dire. They're never overly dramatic like those idiots at Fox News.

I almost wrecked my car when the soothing announcer said the title of the new on-the-road segment:

"The American Economy: The Road to Ruin."

Holy f*ck.

Africom

Africom is:
a. a new line of hair products for African Americans
b. a sci-fi convention held in Botswana
c. a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense that is responsible for U.S. military operations in and military relations with 53 African nations - an area of responsibility covering all of Africa except Egypt. (according to Wikipedia)

Am I the first person to hear about this? This quote from the Wikipedia article bothers me the most:

"In mid 2006, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld formed a planning team to advise on requirements for establishing a new Unified Command for the African continent. In early December, he made a recommendation to President George W. Bush, who authorized the new command on the same day Rumsfeld left office."

Somebody read the Wikipedia article for me, summarize it, give me some warm milk and chocolate chip cookies, rub my back and tell me everything will be okay, everything will be okay, everything will be okay...

The Stock Market

Everyone should keep in mind that our delightful members of Congress have lots more money in the stock market than most of us. While they're taking their good sweet time coming to a decision on this mess, they're losing tons of money, too.

Something will be decided, things will get back to normal, they'll all blame and/or take credit for the outcome and somehow get richer in the process. I don't understand any of it. When people start talking to me about financial matters, all I hear is the voice of Charlie Brown's teacher.

"Wah, wah, wah-wah, wah, wah, wah..."

John McCain dissed David Letterman...big mistake

Found this on Best Week Ever.tv...

I would have totally hung out with these people in college

Bill and Hillary Clinton

Got a Light?

Thanks, Neal (and Neal's mom).

Jimmy Carter on The Daily Show

Jimmy Carter is an amazing man.

Part 1



Part 2

Bill Clinton falling asleep yesterday in Harlem at Martin Luther King Day celebration

Message From Ron Paul

Sorry if any of you guys think I'm nuts, but I like Ron Paul. I hate the way the mainstream media is either negatively portraying him or totally ignoring him. Sometimes, they manage to do both simultaneously.

Be forewarned, any mean Ron Paul comments will be deleted. I never said this blog was a democracy.

December 17, 2007

What a day! I am humbled and inspired, grateful and thrilled for this vast outpouring of support.

On just one day, in honor of the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, the new American revolutionaries brought in $6.04 million, another one-day record. The average donation was $102; we had 58,407 individual contributors, of whom an astounding 24,915 were first-time donors. And it was an entirely voluntary, self-organized, decentralized, independent effort on the internet. Must be the "spammers" I keep hearing about!

The establishment is baffled and worried, and well they should be. They keep asking me who runs our internet fundraising and controls our volunteers. To these top-down central planners, a spontaneous order like our movement is science-fiction. But you and I know it's real: as real as the American people's yearning for freedom, peace, and prosperity, as real as all the men and women who have sacrificed for our ideals, in the past and today.

And how neat to see celebrations all across the world, with Tea Parties from France to New Zealand. This is how we can spread the ideals of our country, through voluntary emulation, not bombs and bribes. Of course, there were hundreds in America.

As I dropped in on a cheering, laughing crowd of about 600 near my home in Freeport, Texas, I noted that they call us "angry." Well, we are the happiest, most optimistic "angry" movement ever, and the most diverse. What unites us is a love of liberty, and a determination to fix what is wrong with our country, from the Fed to the IRS, from warfare to welfare. But otherwise we are a big tent.

Said the local newspaper (http://www.thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=36475b4d132fc0a1): "The elderly sat with teens barely old enough to vote. The faces were black, Hispanic, Asian and white. There was no fear in their voices as they spoke boldly with each other about the way the country should be. Held close like a deeply held secret, Paul has brought them out of the disconnect they feel between what they know to be true and where the country has been led.

"Thanks also to the 500 or so who braved the blizzard in Boston to go to Faneuil Hall. My son Rand told me what a great time he had with you.

A few mornings ago on LewRockwell.com, I saw a YouTube of a 14-year-old boy that summed up our whole movement for me. This well-spoken young man, who could have passed in knowledge for a college graduate, told how he heard our ideas being denounced. So he decided to Google. He read some of my speeches, and thought, these make sense. Then he studied US foreign policy of recent years, and came to the conclusion that we are right. So he persuaded his father to drop Rudy Giuliani and join our movement.

All over America, all over the world, we are inspiring real change. With the wars and the spying, the spending and the taxing, the inflation and the credit crisis, our ideas have never been more needed. Please help me spread them https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate in all 50 states. Victory for liberty! That is our goal, and nothing less.

Sincerely,

Ron

Why do they sound so surprised?

The following stories were on the national news tonight and were presented with great emotion and oh so serious faces.

1. People with bad credit who were given home loans are defaulting on those loans in record numbers.
Why is this a surprise? They even did a segment on how to avoid foreclosure. A whole segment? Barring tragic circumstances, I can wrap up avoiding foreclosure in one sentence: Borrowers, don't borrow more money than you make and lenders, don't loan outrageous amounts of money to people with bad credit.

2. Terrorists are planning to attack the United States.
Yes. Yes, they are. This is what they do. This is the only thing they do. They blow things up and they plan to blow things up.

3. Alberto Gonzales might have committed perjury.
Might have? Might have? Alberto Gonzales can't even tell the truth convincingly.

3. (a) Oh, and by the way, the president stands behind him. That's another little "no shit" moment on the nightly news for you.

4. Cat is harbinger of death.
Okay, this one was good. To watch the video, click here.

More Ron Paul: Colbert and Maher

Ron Paul on the Daily Show

President Bush, I'm Confused.

I'm a simple person. I try to not pay attention to politics as much as I possibly can. However, I have a question and any insight anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Allegedly, President Bush and his Gang (Posse, if you prefer) fired a bunch of United States Attorneys. These firings, for the most part, were not justified. I realize that these are not yet facts and are, at this point, only speculation. However, I don't trust Karl Rove as far as I could throw him and, believe me when I tell you, that ain't very far.

Now, the president says he will not allow certain parties to testify under oath even though they might be (may have already been, at this point) subpoenaed?! Would someone please tell me how this is legal by any stretch of the imagination?

Doesn't a subpoena compel a person to appear and testify under oath, no matter who your boss is? Isn't the whole purpose of having three separate branches of govenment to prevent such blatant...I mean...supposed abuses of power?

Anyone? Anyone?

Since I’ve already voted, is there something similar to the V-Chip I could install so I don’t have to listen to political ads anymore. If not, would someone please invent one? I would suggest you call it the BS-Chip.

I'm Such a Naughty Girl

I had an errand to run after work today and, on my way, I noticed the early voting location near my house. I've never done the early voting thing so, I decided that after I ran my errand I might vote.

After I ran my errand, I thought of another thing I needed to do. Then, after I did that thing, I stopped at Kroger and bought me some sushi. On my way home, I noticed I still had time to vote.

I'm not telling you who I cast my vote for as governor of Texas but I will tell you that it made me feel like such a rebel. I feel kind of like a bad girl, even. A naughty, naughty girl. I feel energized. I feel exhilarated!

If I had a cigarette, I'd smoke it.

Somebody Make It Stop

The election season is upon us and, as usual, the television and radio ads are like fingernails on a blackboard, an ice cream headache and water torture all rolled into one.

In the Texas governor race, Carole Keeton Strayhorn's ads are playing constantly, including one about how she married her high school sweetheart. I don’t care.

Rick Perry and Chris Bell are attacking each other claiming their opponent: hates children, hates teachers, hates money, loves money, hates Texas, is a bigot and, in general, a menace to Texas society.

In the meantime, Kinky Friedman, James Werner and James "Patriot" Dillon, have no radio or television ads in most areas of Texas because they don’t have the money of the other three candidates.

I would like to make the following proposal:

• All radio and television ads would be banned. They’re all exaggeration, accusations, cross-accusations and bullshit anyway.
• Newspaper and magazine ads would be restricted to two inch by two inch spots.
• Posters would be restricted to two feet by two feet.
• Posters would also be restricted to one poster per square mile per candidate.

Any mud a candidate would want to sling at their opponent would have to fit into either the two inches of the print ad or the two feet of the poster. I predict that the candidates would be a lot more selective about their chosen mud.

As an added bonus, we don't have to listen to the ridiculous political spots over and over and over again. Who's with me?