Money, Votes, and Vagina!
First of all, Happy Dean Winchester Day1. I don't have TV, so I hope you seeders will get crackin' asap. ^_^
Seriously you guys, This American Life on NPR/PRI is possibly one of the best podcasts in the world. They cover a variety of subjects, but my recent favorites have been in financial news -- taking big money ideas and putting them in plain English with compelling stories. I don't know much about economics; I know enough to keep my head above water though I still get nervous a few days a week. The other day they explored how the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission hasn't done much of anything while in office, and his temporary regulation of naked short-selling was not going to help fix Wall Street (listen here). Outside of my world, I must admit, but still nice to hear it in a way that makes sense.
Another fascinating episode was 355: The Giant Pool of Money -- which explores the foreclosure and subprime lending crisis in America. That one changed my life, man. NINA (no-income no-asset) loans, ARM (adjustable-rate mortgages), credit default swaps, and the predators who gambled and lost; I feel like I understand what went wrong where.
McCain, self-proclaimed "fundamentally a deregulator" has backtracked a little lately because the same old "Less Government!" rhetoric is not going to fix this economy. I think we need more regulations to stabilize the system, and increase transparency and accountability. We have to protect the majority of average Americans from douchebags that exploit the system, pay themselves from taxpayers' losses, and crash markets while they retire on bonus packages from failing companies.
"I'm always for less regulation." - John McCain
"This is what happens when you confuse the free market with a free license to let special interests to take whatever they can get, however they can get it." - Barack Obama
We don't need a ploy like long-range planning commissions, we need solutions now. I don't think a cabinet full of lobbyists is going to help families who are losing their homes and jobs. I'm from Flint-Fucking-Michigan, I have first-hand experience with being laid off, foreclosed, evicted, homeless, unemployed, and uninsured.
Now in Nevada, I'm a single female and small business owner, and I vote with two things: My vagina and my wallet. For those of us that make less than $250,000 a year, Obama's tax plan is superior. We are living in the 21st century and McCain admits he doesn't use computers and doesn't know how to "use the email". Stuff that matters to bloggers and pirates like me? I need someone that wouldn't ask where's the ANY key!
Me and my vagina are terrified of the very real possibility that Palin will be president someday. She is a liar and a religious whackjob. Last night in Ohio she said her teleprompter malfunctioned at the convention, so she improvised. There's continuous footage of the convention that includes the teleprompter in frame and it does not malfunction. Her character in this election is a myth. What's all this about her trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired? Or her role in earmarks like early supporting the Bridge to Nowhere and later denying it? She uses her special-needs child as a prop to be an advocate for those kids, but while in office, she cut the state funding for Special Olympics by half by vetoing $275,000.
Most alarmingly, she's opposed to all abortion period; regardless of risk to the mother, rape, or incest. Alaska is the #1 state in the country for rape and incest; talk about being out-of-touch. Her own daughter didn't follow the whole abstinence-only bullshit and is having a shotgun wedding. Palin herself was pregnant when she got married. If McCain wins, I demand every technological intervention available to keep that asshole alive, because Palin in office is going to be worse than the worst Disney movie ever.
McComb County in battleground-state Michigan and full of African-Americans, has a civil rights problem brewing. The GOP has a list of home foreclosures and may challenge votes due to invalid addresses. If you have been foreclosed, they may mail a verification card to your address, it will bounce, and they'll distribute those names to the polls and attempt to block those voters.
I don't know if that's legal or ethical, but it sure is one more example of how the Republican party does not want Americans in crisis to be a part of the equation. How you can say you'll offer solutions to these people, and then discreetly target and block them from having a voice? It really says something, man.
Believe it or not, I consider myself something of an independent-left. I have Republican friends and family, and I try to find news sources that aren't as blatantly biased as Fox and MSNBC. I will listen to both sides. I think fiscal conservatives and libertarians have the balls it takes to keep this country from the inevitable bankruptcy we're heading toward. Thus I seek out actual plans and stances. I demand change.
I can now say with complete certainty, that Obama is the better candidate for me. Nevada has been red since 1964 with the exception of Clinton, and our five electoral votes are now considered up for grabs. I think I'll ask the Democrats if they need some help getting young, low- to middle- income, or people of color to the polls, because this country needs defending.
NPR Election Map 2008
See anywhere you can help?
Brought to you in part by the Multi-Ethnic Coalition of Pro-Choice Eco-Friendly Bi-Curious BloggersTM.
1: If I had my way, every day would be Dean Winchester Day. ;-)
Seriously you guys, This American Life on NPR/PRI is possibly one of the best podcasts in the world. They cover a variety of subjects, but my recent favorites have been in financial news -- taking big money ideas and putting them in plain English with compelling stories. I don't know much about economics; I know enough to keep my head above water though I still get nervous a few days a week. The other day they explored how the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission hasn't done much of anything while in office, and his temporary regulation of naked short-selling was not going to help fix Wall Street (listen here). Outside of my world, I must admit, but still nice to hear it in a way that makes sense.
Another fascinating episode was 355: The Giant Pool of Money -- which explores the foreclosure and subprime lending crisis in America. That one changed my life, man. NINA (no-income no-asset) loans, ARM (adjustable-rate mortgages), credit default swaps, and the predators who gambled and lost; I feel like I understand what went wrong where.
McCain, self-proclaimed "fundamentally a deregulator" has backtracked a little lately because the same old "Less Government!" rhetoric is not going to fix this economy. I think we need more regulations to stabilize the system, and increase transparency and accountability. We have to protect the majority of average Americans from douchebags that exploit the system, pay themselves from taxpayers' losses, and crash markets while they retire on bonus packages from failing companies.
"I'm always for less regulation." - John McCain
"This is what happens when you confuse the free market with a free license to let special interests to take whatever they can get, however they can get it." - Barack Obama
We don't need a ploy like long-range planning commissions, we need solutions now. I don't think a cabinet full of lobbyists is going to help families who are losing their homes and jobs. I'm from Flint-Fucking-Michigan, I have first-hand experience with being laid off, foreclosed, evicted, homeless, unemployed, and uninsured.
Now in Nevada, I'm a single female and small business owner, and I vote with two things: My vagina and my wallet. For those of us that make less than $250,000 a year, Obama's tax plan is superior. We are living in the 21st century and McCain admits he doesn't use computers and doesn't know how to "use the email". Stuff that matters to bloggers and pirates like me? I need someone that wouldn't ask where's the ANY key!
Me and my vagina are terrified of the very real possibility that Palin will be president someday. She is a liar and a religious whackjob. Last night in Ohio she said her teleprompter malfunctioned at the convention, so she improvised. There's continuous footage of the convention that includes the teleprompter in frame and it does not malfunction. Her character in this election is a myth. What's all this about her trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired? Or her role in earmarks like early supporting the Bridge to Nowhere and later denying it? She uses her special-needs child as a prop to be an advocate for those kids, but while in office, she cut the state funding for Special Olympics by half by vetoing $275,000.
Most alarmingly, she's opposed to all abortion period; regardless of risk to the mother, rape, or incest. Alaska is the #1 state in the country for rape and incest; talk about being out-of-touch. Her own daughter didn't follow the whole abstinence-only bullshit and is having a shotgun wedding. Palin herself was pregnant when she got married. If McCain wins, I demand every technological intervention available to keep that asshole alive, because Palin in office is going to be worse than the worst Disney movie ever.
McComb County in battleground-state Michigan and full of African-Americans, has a civil rights problem brewing. The GOP has a list of home foreclosures and may challenge votes due to invalid addresses. If you have been foreclosed, they may mail a verification card to your address, it will bounce, and they'll distribute those names to the polls and attempt to block those voters.
I don't know if that's legal or ethical, but it sure is one more example of how the Republican party does not want Americans in crisis to be a part of the equation. How you can say you'll offer solutions to these people, and then discreetly target and block them from having a voice? It really says something, man.
Believe it or not, I consider myself something of an independent-left. I have Republican friends and family, and I try to find news sources that aren't as blatantly biased as Fox and MSNBC. I will listen to both sides. I think fiscal conservatives and libertarians have the balls it takes to keep this country from the inevitable bankruptcy we're heading toward. Thus I seek out actual plans and stances. I demand change.
I can now say with complete certainty, that Obama is the better candidate for me. Nevada has been red since 1964 with the exception of Clinton, and our five electoral votes are now considered up for grabs. I think I'll ask the Democrats if they need some help getting young, low- to middle- income, or people of color to the polls, because this country needs defending.
NPR Election Map 2008
See anywhere you can help?
Brought to you in part by the Multi-Ethnic Coalition of Pro-Choice Eco-Friendly Bi-Curious BloggersTM.
1: If I had my way, every day would be Dean Winchester Day. ;-)