Saturday, September 27, 2008

Can We Bring Democracy to the United States?

I would like to devote my efforts to raising awareness about our broken voting system for the remaining month in this election season. If I do post, it will mainly be on this topic.

END POVERTY NOW

Monday, September 22, 2008

Would you like to open a checking account with Goldman Sachs?

Last week, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were the only remaining investment banks in the country. This week, they are officially federal "bank holding companies." That means that they can play with money directly from us little people who will make deposits at the commercial banks they can now legally open. Says MorganStanley in a Sunday press release,

Morgan Stanley sought this new status from the Federal Reserve to provide the Firm maximum flexibility and stability to pursue new business opportunities as the financial marketplace undergoes rapid and profound changes. The Firm will pursue initiatives to expand the retail banking services it offers its retail clients and build a stable base of core deposits. Morgan Stanley has more than 3 million retail accounts and had $36 billion in bank deposits as of August 31, 2008.


Free checking with Morgan Stanley! Open a saving account with Goldman Sachs and receive $10 free. They are opening their first national bank in Utah (actually converting their Utah industrial bank to a national bank).

We are supposed to feel comforted now because (thanks to all the deregulation in Wall Street spearheaded by McCain and friends), even with those 3 million retail accounts and $36 billion in bank deposits, they weren't under the watchful eye and regulatory power of the Federal Reserve before...not like they have to be now. Still, they want us to believe that business goes on as usual for them,

The Firm does not expect significant adverse tax or accounting effects from this new status, nor does the Firm expect there to be limitations on its activities that would have a material impact on Morgan Stanley’s overall business.

A number of my college classmates went to work for these investment banks. I can't tell you how glad I am that I didn't. I'm not interested in the cold calculations for maximum profit. When the world is looking a little rosier again, I'm sure these big banks and their friends will be crying for less regulation again..."Save us, little people, save us..."

Friday, September 19, 2008

Fabricating Reality





I am just started out with Blender. So far, I can only aspire to one day be able to make material of this quality. Even with the skills, it takes a lot of work. One estimate being 70 hours for 10 seconds of video. The Republicans have proven much faster at fabricating reality.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Opening Eyes, One Film at a Time


I was asked to compile a list of upcoming movies worth watching and that's why I am on this tangent right now. But there are several very promising looking films coming out including the documentaries Trouble The Water (a documentary filmed by a couple while they fought to survive Katrina and then after), Flow (about the privatization of the world water supply), and I.O.U.S.A (about the compounding debt the Republicans are leaving us). Except for Flow, whcih already came out on the 12th of September, these films will all be released on Monday. Stealing American: Vote by Vote, has already been released. Those are just a few of the additions to my list of films I'd consider spending precious time viewing. I definitely want to see The Lucky Ones (out next Friday)...Tim Robbins is back! Yes. And if the trailer is any measure, he and his costars (Michael Peña and Rachel McAdams) do not disappoint.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

When is this Movie Coming Out?


W by Oliver Stone

Afterthought: I do not know anything about this movie except what was in the preview. In the trailer, Bush and folks looked like the idiots and A-Holes they really are, if you ask me. But maybe I'm reading more into it than is really captured in this movie?

Photos from the Republican Convention


This picture is sad...and funny. Punditkitchen.com had me laughing several times. Sometimes humor is good medicine...and this country has a real sickness.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Two Very Different Tax Plans

Crooks and Liars already posted this but I just saw it...the difference in the presidential candidates tax plans is drastic. The national non-cable network nightly news has been attempting to make it appear that there is in fact little difference between them, that neither are really going to help the middle class. I saw a story recently on one of the three CBS, ABC, NBC networks saying that both plans, and Obama's especially, would give a modest middle-class family of three or four a tax break of only 500 dollars. Sounds like they need to get their numbers straight unless those were the mythical middle class people of the McCain universe where you can be middle class and earn millions of dollars at the same time. If they were out of that book, then indeed Obama would not be giving them a tax cut.

Would the Real Pig Please Stand Up

Thursday, September 11, 2008

...Reflecting on 9/11

McCain criticized Wasilla earmarks in 2001

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain criticized two of his future running mate's hometown projects in broadsides in 2001 against congressional "pork-barrel" spending, records from the Arizona senator's office show.

What I am Thinking in this Moment of Silence

Today, they read the names of all 2996 victims of the 9/11 attack. I don't know how long it took but it would have taken far longer if they had also read the names of the 4155 Americans killed in the Iraqi occupation. If they added the 1,255,026 Iraqis killed in the occupation then they would literally be reading names for the rest of the summer.



Antiwar.com has this quote from H.G. Wells on their website...

A time will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted international dissension will be...surer of the noose than a private homicide.
– H. G. Wells

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

McCain Sees Red...Lipstick...in the Mirror

This is just ridiculous of the McCain campaign. They are starting to look like immature middle schoolers. "It's because I'm Swedish, that's why you gave me a bad grade!" Back when I was teaching middle school, I had a student say this to me once (actually twice). It was one of those days and my response came right out of the sarcastic bad teacher playbook, "You know, you're right. If you were Norwegian then that would be fine but Sweden...just doesn't fly." That shut him up. I guess the equivalent response here would be to say to McCain, "You know, you're right. I should have said dog (ergo Pitbull). You can put lipstick on a dog but it's still a dog."


Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Nice.



McCain and Palin, Just - Like - You.

McCain and Palin, Just - Like - You.

"Vasquez is a single mother of two daughters...a classic victim of the sub-prime lending machine that approved a no down-payment loan without ever verifying her income...Vasquez said that she knows she needs a lawyer, but said she cannot afford one. The only family is a sister who has no room at her house, so if Vasquez loses her home through foreclosure, she said she has no place to go."

"John McCain said in an interview with Politico... "that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own."

"I think -- I'll have my staff get to you," McCain said. "It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you."

The answer, according to the group Progressive Accountability, is an even 10 homes, ranches, condos, and lofts, together worth a combined estimated $13,823,269.

John and Cindy McCain own a plethora of houses spread throughout the United States, including: two beachfront condos in Coronado, California, condo in La Jolla, California, a two-unit condominium complex in Phoenix, Arizona, three ranch houses located outside of Sedona, Arizona, a high-rise condo in Arlington, Virginia, a rental loft, and, according to GQ, a loft they bought for their daughter, Meghan."



McCain and Palin, Just - Like - You.

""It’s hard to describe. It was kind of a surreal state. I was numb. It’s almost like a death. You feel helpless. You’re embarrassed, humiliated, angry, disgusted, all of those kinds of feelings. And then there’s the neighborhood, the disconnect with all those people you’ve been accustomed to over the years. We lost a lot of stuff, lost the community that we knew. It causes depression, stress and physical ailments, not to mention a lot of shame. You feel bad for people to know you’ve been evicted.""



"On house ownership, the Palins can’t match the McCains’ eight homes, but her real estate portfolio is respectable, thank you very much. Palin owns three houses, according to her 2007 financial disclosure form. The forms don’t list the value of the properties, but indicate that one is residential and the other two are used for recreation."



"A survey by the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows the number of low- paying service jobs is growing in 47 of the 50 states, while the number of better-paying industrial jobs, mostly in manufacturing, is shrinking. The study found the average annual pay in industries where jobs are declining, such as manufacturing and information technology, is $44,570, while jobs in expanding industries such as leisure and hospitality pay an average $35,410 a year. “It’s bad enough that we’ve lost so many jobs, but this shows that the jobs lost were good jobs,” says Michael Ettlinger, director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network."


The average american salary is $42,028.




"Gov. Palin's salary is approximately $82,000 per year, her husband reportedly makes $100,000/yr."

"McCain's Senate salary and book royalties amounted to $215,304 in 2006 and $258,800 in 2007...Cindy McCain is the heiress to Hensley and Company, a lucrative beer distributor company in Arizona. Her wealth has been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. "



McCain and Palin, Just - Like - You.

Monday, September 08, 2008

A political joke from the seven-year old...

A pitbull with lipstick ate Sarah Palin. The pitbull said, "You shouldn't have said that." :-P

She just turned seven last month. Kids say the darndest things.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

More Official Palin Photos

Isn't it spooky how much Palin looks like a desperate housewife?

But just wait until she gets into the White House (when McKook kicks the bucket)...
and realizes what exactly the president does..."everyday"...

Saturday, September 06, 2008

From Someone Who Knows What Really Went Down

Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

This quote is from Anne Kilkenny's letter informing the rest of us on who the real Sarah Palin is. If you haven't already done so, please read the rest of her very honest letter.

Sarah Palin's mother-in-law uncertain about how she'll vote

"I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," Faye Palin said with a laugh.


The woman's own mother-in-law doesn't think she has enough experience! And Faye Palin disagrees with her daughter in law's staunch pro-life stance. Read more here. I guess it is particularly understandable that her mother-in-law would not support her despite her ultra-conservative views since Governor Palin stabbed Mama Palin in the back, back in the day, voting for the opposition when her mother-in-law ran for the mayor's seat Sarah had just vacated due to term limits. No way Faye Palin is going to vote for you now Sarah!

And I'm really doing research on Governor Palin but other articles on people like Bristol Palin are quite abundant and I'm coming across the strangest information. We are supposed to be so sure that the Trig = grandson story was just an incorrect rumor based on the teen's current pregnancy but then why did her daughter suddenly transfer last fall to an Anchorage high school away from that small town where everyone knows everything? I was completely done with this stupid story and even believed that Trig was Sarah's until I read that. Is Sarah really pregnant and how old is Trig? Not that I care...really.

Back to the issues...if you would like to see some of how Gov. Palin stands on the issues, please see ON The Issues.com for more info.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

This Election is Not About Issues


According to Moveon.org, even McCain's campaign manager admitted that all McCain has to rely on is attacks, saying that for them, "This election is not about issues." Well, lets just see how gullible the American people are this time... If we vote for the republican party after they have screwed us over for the last 8 years then we're saying they are right on the issues and they should keep doing the same thing, exploiting workers more than ever before and leaving the most vulnerable members of our society to "fend for themselves". McCain has great healthcare and he uses it. What does everyone else have and what kind of healthcare will you/they have in the kind of depression the Bush administration just nearly created and which we haven't seen since the 30s, bank runs and all?
 
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