There's a lot of questions, comments, and philosophy about how to let everyone know you're smart, well connected with reality, and not gonna say grace this year.
When you're at dinner, and Uncle Kiddietoucher starts to pray, instead of cringing as his spittle moistens the overcooked turkey, try any of the following:
* Jump up, smack someone sitting beside you, and yell "Fuck You, God-Lover, I is for REAL!" and once they all look at you, try expanding your thesis: "Seriously, I'm all about reality, and that reality doesn't include any god, gods, or goddesses. Instead of attempting to poison my ability to rationally and objectively view the world, how 'bout you shut your shit spewer and join in, with me, living in the here and now?"
* Join with others, don't sit back, come out as a non-theist (whichever terminology you enjoy), and show your solidarity.
Read More...
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Today
I've taken to calling Santa, "That big scary pedophile, who rewards kids that sit on his lap."
You figure out what I think about today. Read More...
You figure out what I think about today. Read More...
Monday, December 22, 2008
Gay Marriage
Separate but Equal. Remember that? Remember what the Supreme Court said about it? If you don't support Gay Marriage, shut the fuck up.
Read More...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Story Time
"The mercury destroys their brainy stuffs, and makes them drool more! There is no cure for it, and these, so-called, "Doctors"- who actually went to school for 12 years past the 12 years I had to suck and fuck my way through- FORCE our children to ingest MERCURY!" Sloth's face was red from exertion and she stood, panting, surveying her audience. Heads were nodding accent.
"Autism is a plague, brought on by 'science', 'reason', and a general inability to accept a death rate of greater than 50% for anyone over thirty! These vaccines have got to go! I have lived with autism for six years, and as a mother," she adopted the teary-eyed look that had always worked on daddy, "it was the most horrible thing ever! To know my son was a squishy headed half-tard with no prospects for ever not mooching off what I've sucked and fucked my way to- I picked my nose on TV, for Zombie Jebus's sake- was unbearable! But.. But, I am one of the lucky ones." The tears dried up, she smiled awkwardly. "My son was a slightly-sickly-blueish-green Child. He, as a member of the next evolution of mankind, has healed himself of- what modern medical practitioners might misdiagnose as- 'autism'." There are cheers, and Sloth's heart swells. No one ever cheered that hard when for her when she wasn't showing boobies, she thought. This is way better than double penetration, she added.
"Even though my child is not autistic, and I'm not a doctor, or a scientist, and I obviously don't understand simple aspects of evolutionary biologists... Even though more than 15 major studies, throughout the world, run under verifiably reasonable, sound, and trusted experimental modalities totally discount what I say... I know what caused the not-autism my not-human son once sorta had: VACCINES!" There are angry cheers and jeers from the crowd.
"She's right, she's right, she's right," adds Sloth's boyfriend Monkey, as he stares contemplatively into his hand full of feces. "Sex now?" Monkey stage whispers, and the crowd cheers even louder; his gaze barely drifts from the odiferous contents of his hands to the pronounced swell of Sloth's bussom.
There is a loud, momentary, squeal across the speaker system, then the tried and true swooshing of someone blowing into a microphone. "Test, Check. Oh, okay! Uhm. Hello." says Owl. Owl has been told that putting the crowd at ease, making them comfortable, will win them over to his side. 'Hello' was his ace in the hole, and as the crowd hasn't started rioting, or shouting at him to do anatomically impossible things, it seems to have worked. Check and mate, he tells himself, I got this. "I am Doctor Owl, a neuro-surgeon at Princeton Plainsburrow Teaching Hospital." Owl's chest swells with pride, and he sees heads nodding in approval. "What Sloth said is false for any number of reasons, one:" and as that's where the majority of the audience stopped listening, I won't bother you with repeating Owl's diatribe of facts, reality, and- that stubbornly repeatable, verifiable, and objective- truth. Instead, this being an accurate recitation of events, we'll pick back up where most of the audience did. "Therefore, Sloth has no proof of what she's saying because there is no proof. She's wrong, anyone who does the research knows she's wrong, and she's endangering the lives of everyone by perpetrating these lies onto the unsuspecting masses! Autism is not linked, and has never been reliably linked, to vaccines. Thank you." Some jeered, some cheered, most were still transfixed by Sloth and Monkey's obvious sluttiness.
Many in the audience, for whatever reason, believed if they were pushed far enough, either one or both of Sloth and Monkey would gladly flop onto their back and encourage a type of train that only much older, scarier, and often Japanese, boys think about as fun. Some in the audience secretly hoped Owl was of a similar bent. Of course, there were about six or seven- of the hundreds in attendance- who actually cared what was being said, too.
"You're a shill for Big Pharma," accused Monkey, the words mimicing the metabolic process he was simultaneously using to refill his hand. "We're actors, and we've talked to psychics, and our Chiropractic friends agree." The crowd cheered. Owl responded with a list of highly regarded, peer reviewed, scientific medical journals that published equally reliable studies discounting any claims that autism was linked with, as Owl put it, "chemicals that haven't even been in US vaccines for years!"
"Shill!" Sloth chanted, and Monkey echoed. "Shill!" The crowd chanted, too.
Owl shook his head, and waited. He flashed a shiny mirror at the crowd. The short attention spans of the chanters were instantly focused on the mirror, and on Owl. The chant was forgotten. "There is no link. There is no evidence that even suggests a link, other than those people who say there is such evidence. Everytime they're asked to produce evidence they cannot. Anytime they've suggested some 'likely candidate' as the culprit, it's been thuroughly tested and shown to be harmless- as far as autism is concerned. Each time their favored vaccination component is debunked, they invent a new one out of whole cloth! That is not science, that's, at best, guessing; and more akin to witch hunting."
"He supports witchcraft! You heard him, he's a satanist!"
"Actually, though my personal beliefs shouldn't matter, I don't believe in any gods, devils, demons, or ghosts."
"EVEN WORSE! He's an ATHEIST!" The crowd gasps. "Let's hit him until he believes in our professed mythologies!" The crowd cheers. Owl swallows, and eyes the exit. The crowd, still jeering and cheering stand up. Owl knows his time is short.
"Do the research for yourself, don't trust what others tell you, look it up. Go to.." but someone cuts the microphone before he can finish. The crowd is starting toward the stage. It's now or never, Owl thinks, and tosses the mirror. As it flies, the various lights cause the mirror to glint and shine, casting brilliant rays at random. The distraction is complete. As one the crowd, Sloth, and Monkey, stare transfixed as the mirror arcs up and crashes down, shattering. When it breaks, they immediately return to Owl; but he is gone, disappeared.
"See," says Sloth. "He's a sorcerer. Who would you rather believe? A devil worshipping atheist sorcerer doctor, or these?" She flashes two of her teats at the admiring crowd. The crowd cheers. Read More...
"Autism is a plague, brought on by 'science', 'reason', and a general inability to accept a death rate of greater than 50% for anyone over thirty! These vaccines have got to go! I have lived with autism for six years, and as a mother," she adopted the teary-eyed look that had always worked on daddy, "it was the most horrible thing ever! To know my son was a squishy headed half-tard with no prospects for ever not mooching off what I've sucked and fucked my way to- I picked my nose on TV, for Zombie Jebus's sake- was unbearable! But.. But, I am one of the lucky ones." The tears dried up, she smiled awkwardly. "My son was a slightly-sickly-blueish-green Child. He, as a member of the next evolution of mankind, has healed himself of- what modern medical practitioners might misdiagnose as- 'autism'." There are cheers, and Sloth's heart swells. No one ever cheered that hard when for her when she wasn't showing boobies, she thought. This is way better than double penetration, she added.
"Even though my child is not autistic, and I'm not a doctor, or a scientist, and I obviously don't understand simple aspects of evolutionary biologists... Even though more than 15 major studies, throughout the world, run under verifiably reasonable, sound, and trusted experimental modalities totally discount what I say... I know what caused the not-autism my not-human son once sorta had: VACCINES!" There are angry cheers and jeers from the crowd.
"She's right, she's right, she's right," adds Sloth's boyfriend Monkey, as he stares contemplatively into his hand full of feces. "Sex now?" Monkey stage whispers, and the crowd cheers even louder; his gaze barely drifts from the odiferous contents of his hands to the pronounced swell of Sloth's bussom.
There is a loud, momentary, squeal across the speaker system, then the tried and true swooshing of someone blowing into a microphone. "Test, Check. Oh, okay! Uhm. Hello." says Owl. Owl has been told that putting the crowd at ease, making them comfortable, will win them over to his side. 'Hello' was his ace in the hole, and as the crowd hasn't started rioting, or shouting at him to do anatomically impossible things, it seems to have worked. Check and mate, he tells himself, I got this. "I am Doctor Owl, a neuro-surgeon at Princeton Plainsburrow Teaching Hospital." Owl's chest swells with pride, and he sees heads nodding in approval. "What Sloth said is false for any number of reasons, one:" and as that's where the majority of the audience stopped listening, I won't bother you with repeating Owl's diatribe of facts, reality, and- that stubbornly repeatable, verifiable, and objective- truth. Instead, this being an accurate recitation of events, we'll pick back up where most of the audience did. "Therefore, Sloth has no proof of what she's saying because there is no proof. She's wrong, anyone who does the research knows she's wrong, and she's endangering the lives of everyone by perpetrating these lies onto the unsuspecting masses! Autism is not linked, and has never been reliably linked, to vaccines. Thank you." Some jeered, some cheered, most were still transfixed by Sloth and Monkey's obvious sluttiness.
Many in the audience, for whatever reason, believed if they were pushed far enough, either one or both of Sloth and Monkey would gladly flop onto their back and encourage a type of train that only much older, scarier, and often Japanese, boys think about as fun. Some in the audience secretly hoped Owl was of a similar bent. Of course, there were about six or seven- of the hundreds in attendance- who actually cared what was being said, too.
"You're a shill for Big Pharma," accused Monkey, the words mimicing the metabolic process he was simultaneously using to refill his hand. "We're actors, and we've talked to psychics, and our Chiropractic friends agree." The crowd cheered. Owl responded with a list of highly regarded, peer reviewed, scientific medical journals that published equally reliable studies discounting any claims that autism was linked with, as Owl put it, "chemicals that haven't even been in US vaccines for years!"
"Shill!" Sloth chanted, and Monkey echoed. "Shill!" The crowd chanted, too.
Owl shook his head, and waited. He flashed a shiny mirror at the crowd. The short attention spans of the chanters were instantly focused on the mirror, and on Owl. The chant was forgotten. "There is no link. There is no evidence that even suggests a link, other than those people who say there is such evidence. Everytime they're asked to produce evidence they cannot. Anytime they've suggested some 'likely candidate' as the culprit, it's been thuroughly tested and shown to be harmless- as far as autism is concerned. Each time their favored vaccination component is debunked, they invent a new one out of whole cloth! That is not science, that's, at best, guessing; and more akin to witch hunting."
"He supports witchcraft! You heard him, he's a satanist!"
"Actually, though my personal beliefs shouldn't matter, I don't believe in any gods, devils, demons, or ghosts."
"EVEN WORSE! He's an ATHEIST!" The crowd gasps. "Let's hit him until he believes in our professed mythologies!" The crowd cheers. Owl swallows, and eyes the exit. The crowd, still jeering and cheering stand up. Owl knows his time is short.
"Do the research for yourself, don't trust what others tell you, look it up. Go to.." but someone cuts the microphone before he can finish. The crowd is starting toward the stage. It's now or never, Owl thinks, and tosses the mirror. As it flies, the various lights cause the mirror to glint and shine, casting brilliant rays at random. The distraction is complete. As one the crowd, Sloth, and Monkey, stare transfixed as the mirror arcs up and crashes down, shattering. When it breaks, they immediately return to Owl; but he is gone, disappeared.
"See," says Sloth. "He's a sorcerer. Who would you rather believe? A devil worshipping atheist sorcerer doctor, or these?" She flashes two of her teats at the admiring crowd. The crowd cheers. Read More...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Mallard Fillmore, the Right, and the Prius.
I thought Mallard Fillmore was a political commentary comic strip; recently, I've been reminded it is a right-wing political commentary comic strip. Obvious political bias, especially when it's lame ass rehashings of party talking points from months ago- like today's strip in The Huntsville Times, in which Obama is lambasted for kicking a reporter off his plane during the campaign. Have we forgotten that kicking reporters off planes is somewhat standard practice? Have we forgotten that Bush did it, Clinton did it, McCain did it, and others have surely done it? Generally, though, it irritates me to see anyone lambasting the president-elect for things he should/shouldn't/could do once he's the President. It's childish, it's counting the chickens before the baskets hatch from the eggs, and it's stupid. Let the motherfucker fuck up before we roast his ass. Why artificially concoct bullshit, now? How many infallible politicians do we have in this country that so many people are scared if they don't constantly throw mud there will come a time when mud throwing isn't allowed/wanted?
The Right of US's political divide has been pissing me off, more than usual, lately. First, the talking heads that squawk on and on about how "this recession isn't any worse than any before it", or how "[some financial thing] doesn't need to be further regulated", or how other countries are blaming the US, entirely, for the current world woes. That last isn't a "right-wing" thing per se, but it fits in the general theme, and that's good enough for me. (Though, I'll deal with it separately later). First, the average length of a Recession since WWII: 8-10 months. Current length of this Recession: 12 months, and counting. Last time we were in a recession that lasted this long? Either the early 90s or the early 80s depending on if you take into account "depth" and to whom you listen.
Once again, this world wide problem came about in a number of ways. Partly, the US economy has been bolstered over the last 5-8 years by debt, as has most of the world's economy. In fact, modern economics is the manipulation of debt- in a very real way. There was a huge glut of global money looking for a place to be invested. The first place it found was gas. Oil always goes up, just like the value of a house, or so the wisdom went. The only negative had been how slow those rising values happened, but the global pool of money didn't want risk, so slow growth was seen as the perfect solution. This led to rising fuel costs as futures were invested in, and demand from the emerging economies of China, Brazil and Russia far outpaced supply. Investment + Demand = Skyrocketing Oil value.
At the same time, two things were happening in the financial sectors of the US, the UK, and several other countries with large, valuable, housing markets. First, growth was steady and rising, and seen as reliable and safe. Second, Credit Default Swaps- unregulated, non-transparent, financial instruments handled exclusively by large financial institutions- became a source of speculation, instead of a sort of insurance policy on low risk bonds. Technically, these things happened first, as they started in the late 90s and early 00s; but the problems snowballed when fuel costs ran rampant.
The financial obligations of CDS's spread risk, and investment in debt, over huge swaths of the financial industry, by linking bond payouts. A Credit Default Swap being an obligation to pay out on a company's bond if that company should default- these were then "netted", causing there to be (basically) 50-60 trillion US$ of obligated insurance on 5 trillion US$ worth of bonds. Bonds, CDS's, fuel futures, all of it is betting on debt, and the repayment of that debt.
The housing market was primed for some of that huge pool of global money. It was already seeing returns from oil futures, and experts understood that those returns were going to slack off as gas prices climbed higher, causing consumers to cut back. In other words, the growth of that sector was forecast to plateau. This made investors hungry for more of the overwhelming growth they had been experiencing and grown accustomed to; and the only other market with slow steady growth was housing.
The problem with housing was that it grew based on the debt in the system. When a homebuyer gets a loan, his debt enters the system as a mortgage, and can be bought up. Bundle a bunch of those debts together and it's a Mortgage Backed Security- another financial instrument, like a bond or CDL, and like them based solely on debt. Mortgages default on a regular basis, always have. If each person had a base 10% chance to default, bundled mortgages of 10 people had a 100% chance that one of them would go bad. But the other 9 wouldn't, statistically. That's safer than buying one mortgage, where if it goes bad your investment is shot. It's even safer to buy up 1,000 where 100 will probably go bad, but 900 will make their payments back to you.
Seems simple and straight forward, right?
The problem was lack of consumer protections. Think about this: according to the Bell Curve, if you're above the median intellect (and if you're reading this, it's a safe assumption that statement is true) the majority of people are dumber than you. That's understandable, of course, you encounter many morons in your day-to-day. The additional fact is, though, that someone dumber than you, but also above median, is smarter than the majority of people. Imagine that guy or gal, and then imagine the person behind him. Call that person "X".
The banks knew they could make large profits off bundling mortgage loans together and "selling" them to investors. The more loans they made, the more bundles they could sell. Lawmakers, at the time, knew such deals would improve the economy, and in times of plenty those in power stay there. Lawmakers encouraged the businesses; and the Businesses, not really needing encouragement to make every cent they could, happily ran full steam ahead. Banks gave out more and more loans, ignoring previously held economic principles on "acceptable risk". Meanwhile, they were also obligated to pay off potential debts, through CDSs.
Our freindly dumbass "X" gets told that it doesn't matter how much he makes, what his credit history is, he can "HAVE THE AMERICAN DREAM!" and own a house. "X" is also being told, by popular entertainment, it's easy to "flip a house" and make some quick cash. "X" knows he's smarter than most- who isn't? - and he goes to his bank. The Bank doesn't check his credit history, they don't check his employment history, they give him a mortgage and sell it down the line before "X" has left the building. "X" has seen on the paper how his payment is only $500/mo, whereas his apartment payment was $550/mo (he lived in the cheapo roach infested shit apartments). He goes to his nice house, makes the payments for a month or two, and then something happens. His variable rate mortgage causes his interest rate to adjust higher and his payment to go up to $550/mo. Well, he managed that before, and he can do it again- but gas is up to $3 a gallon from $2 a gallon when he lived in his apartment. He's paying bills late, but still paying, then the rate jumps again and he's paying $600/mo and gas is at $4/gal and projected to hit $5/gal soon. He starts missing payments. The rate goes up "X" gets more and more behind and forecloses because he was fooled and a fool. When he bought the house, he could pay for it; and the Bank man assured him the rate wouldn't adjust for a year or two or more and it wouldn't adjust by much. Unfortunately, it adjusted twice in six months and adjusted by more than a point each time.
So now, the default rate is 20% instead of 10%. That hurts, and causes some companies to issue more bonds to cover immediate cash needs, but everything is stable. The lenders have already lent to everyone remotely worth lending. The Housing market follows oil and plateaus. Except, the lenders haven't stopped lending. The stupid people agree to loans they couldn't POSSIBLY afford; and the greedy businesses continue to make more loans and sell them to global investors because they can pull in hundreds of thousands (instead of hundreds of millions, but still good money, right? Right? RIGHT!?! AMIRITE!!111). Finally, one too many people default.
A solid company, invested in low risk markets like oil and housing starts to issue more bonds to cover some of its debt. Those bonds get insured by CDSs and those CDSs are covered by further CDSs. The solid company becomes shaky, more bonds, fewer CDSs- but more profitable for CDS speculators (so long as the compnay doesn't collapse, and it's been stable for 200 years, it would NEVER coll...). One too many defaults and the company collapses inside 6 months of being stable. Now those CDSs come up.
The company that went under had CDSs on some other companies. Some of those companies, less historically firm, have hit their one too many mark and crashed as well. Now, CDSs are being called in. The money isn't there. Yadda Yadda Yadda, Today.
That's where we find ourselves, and there's a single simple perpetrator. A slimy, greasy, suspect, motherfucker, who deserves nothing but our contempt, our hatred, and our rage. The perpetrator is: Damn-near-every-fucking-body. Greedy Businesses, Stupid and Greedy People, Government Regulators, Politicians, Banks, Investors, everybody. It's not a US problem, it's not a Europe Problem. It's a World Market Problem. The reason it's a World Market Problem, is because- and correct me if I'm wrong- WE'RE A GLOBAL ECONOMY! Everyone's business is intertwined with everyone else's. If shit goes south in Japan in the 90s, it hurts us here, if it hurts us, it hurts Europe, if it hurts Europe it hurts Asia, guess where Japan is? Asia, a part of the world you MAY have heard of...
The Prius has taken a hit- one down, now if iAnything would be shown, conclusively, to cause ovaries development in men and cancer in anyone with ovaries I'd be able to smile once in a while. November sales for the Prius have dropped 48%, according to Toyota. Everyone's blaming the dramatic fall in gas prices from $4/gal back to ~$1.60/gal. Uhm... I have a thought on this... could it be... maybe.. that we're in a RECESSION? Could it be that people are losing their jobs, scared of losing their jobs, still nervous from how $4/gal gas came outta nowhere [Mention Peak Oil and I'll hunt you down, remove your sexual characteristics with a rusty spoon, and force you to watch Maddow, or O'Reilly, while listening to "It's a small world" on infinite loop.], hurt from the loss of 50% of their retirement plan's value, and in a million other ways not buying $40k cars? Show me 1 single car over, let's say $20k that hasn't seen a drop from last year. I'd bet, you can't. And I'd bet that the more expensive the car, the bigger the drop in sales. Gas being "cheap", if it has ANYTHING to do with it, is probably not responsible for more than 3% of the decline, I'd bet. (Complete supposition there, based on how "environmentally" conscious everyone got when they could afford to be................. ahem........) . . . . . .................. . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
Right.
One last thing: Nade-off-with-the-money. First off, Jewish people who say they have it rough in Florida should be forced to have it exactly as rough as they try to say. Secondly, British Cry Babies who boo-hoo American Regulation should try and think before they speak. American Regulators fucked up, they were warned about this douche bag a couple times, sure. Yet, I keep coming abck tot eh NPR interview I heard with a money manager who had decided not to invest with the guy. The Manager said if the person controlling the money isn't willing to tell us how he's making his profits, we're not willing to trust him with our money. He also said that consistent 1% monthly growth was unreasonable. In other words, He said "We use common fucking sense, and so we didn't get burned by this shithead." The fact that the guy is Jewish and a lot of Jewish investors and Charities got swindled, that means nothing. He didn't target them for being Jewish, he's a fucking criminal and saw a mark.
The thing that should be talked about, isn't the 50 billion he screwed people out of, it's how extremely rare is such a con-job. A year ago in France, this same sorta fraud happened for $7 billion. One person was saying that this wouldn't be the last fraud. Hedge Funds are, like the CDSs that spread the financial crises out from US housing and across markets/the world, sorely lacking in regulations.
"But regulation is bad."
The regulations I am a HUGE proponent of, are TRANSPARENCY and DISCLOSURE. You want a free market? Okay, open your books. Your system of correctly guessing isn't a trade secret. It's a system of guessing. Research can make the guessing more accurate, more likely to make money; but it's still guessing. Fuck you, show us EVERYTHING.
And that goes for all financial EVERYTHINGS. Show us the money. Where is it? Who is promised to? How's it being made? Account for where it is currently!
Accountability, Transparency, Disclosure. If they don't have them, don't do business with 'em. And you, Jewish or Gentile, won't get bilked. Read More...
The Right of US's political divide has been pissing me off, more than usual, lately. First, the talking heads that squawk on and on about how "this recession isn't any worse than any before it", or how "[some financial thing] doesn't need to be further regulated", or how other countries are blaming the US, entirely, for the current world woes. That last isn't a "right-wing" thing per se, but it fits in the general theme, and that's good enough for me. (Though, I'll deal with it separately later). First, the average length of a Recession since WWII: 8-10 months. Current length of this Recession: 12 months, and counting. Last time we were in a recession that lasted this long? Either the early 90s or the early 80s depending on if you take into account "depth" and to whom you listen.
Once again, this world wide problem came about in a number of ways. Partly, the US economy has been bolstered over the last 5-8 years by debt, as has most of the world's economy. In fact, modern economics is the manipulation of debt- in a very real way. There was a huge glut of global money looking for a place to be invested. The first place it found was gas. Oil always goes up, just like the value of a house, or so the wisdom went. The only negative had been how slow those rising values happened, but the global pool of money didn't want risk, so slow growth was seen as the perfect solution. This led to rising fuel costs as futures were invested in, and demand from the emerging economies of China, Brazil and Russia far outpaced supply. Investment + Demand = Skyrocketing Oil value.
At the same time, two things were happening in the financial sectors of the US, the UK, and several other countries with large, valuable, housing markets. First, growth was steady and rising, and seen as reliable and safe. Second, Credit Default Swaps- unregulated, non-transparent, financial instruments handled exclusively by large financial institutions- became a source of speculation, instead of a sort of insurance policy on low risk bonds. Technically, these things happened first, as they started in the late 90s and early 00s; but the problems snowballed when fuel costs ran rampant.
The financial obligations of CDS's spread risk, and investment in debt, over huge swaths of the financial industry, by linking bond payouts. A Credit Default Swap being an obligation to pay out on a company's bond if that company should default- these were then "netted", causing there to be (basically) 50-60 trillion US$ of obligated insurance on 5 trillion US$ worth of bonds. Bonds, CDS's, fuel futures, all of it is betting on debt, and the repayment of that debt.
The housing market was primed for some of that huge pool of global money. It was already seeing returns from oil futures, and experts understood that those returns were going to slack off as gas prices climbed higher, causing consumers to cut back. In other words, the growth of that sector was forecast to plateau. This made investors hungry for more of the overwhelming growth they had been experiencing and grown accustomed to; and the only other market with slow steady growth was housing.
The problem with housing was that it grew based on the debt in the system. When a homebuyer gets a loan, his debt enters the system as a mortgage, and can be bought up. Bundle a bunch of those debts together and it's a Mortgage Backed Security- another financial instrument, like a bond or CDL, and like them based solely on debt. Mortgages default on a regular basis, always have. If each person had a base 10% chance to default, bundled mortgages of 10 people had a 100% chance that one of them would go bad. But the other 9 wouldn't, statistically. That's safer than buying one mortgage, where if it goes bad your investment is shot. It's even safer to buy up 1,000 where 100 will probably go bad, but 900 will make their payments back to you.
Seems simple and straight forward, right?
The problem was lack of consumer protections. Think about this: according to the Bell Curve, if you're above the median intellect (and if you're reading this, it's a safe assumption that statement is true) the majority of people are dumber than you. That's understandable, of course, you encounter many morons in your day-to-day. The additional fact is, though, that someone dumber than you, but also above median, is smarter than the majority of people. Imagine that guy or gal, and then imagine the person behind him. Call that person "X".
The banks knew they could make large profits off bundling mortgage loans together and "selling" them to investors. The more loans they made, the more bundles they could sell. Lawmakers, at the time, knew such deals would improve the economy, and in times of plenty those in power stay there. Lawmakers encouraged the businesses; and the Businesses, not really needing encouragement to make every cent they could, happily ran full steam ahead. Banks gave out more and more loans, ignoring previously held economic principles on "acceptable risk". Meanwhile, they were also obligated to pay off potential debts, through CDSs.
Our freindly dumbass "X" gets told that it doesn't matter how much he makes, what his credit history is, he can "HAVE THE AMERICAN DREAM!" and own a house. "X" is also being told, by popular entertainment, it's easy to "flip a house" and make some quick cash. "X" knows he's smarter than most- who isn't? - and he goes to his bank. The Bank doesn't check his credit history, they don't check his employment history, they give him a mortgage and sell it down the line before "X" has left the building. "X" has seen on the paper how his payment is only $500/mo, whereas his apartment payment was $550/mo (he lived in the cheapo roach infested shit apartments). He goes to his nice house, makes the payments for a month or two, and then something happens. His variable rate mortgage causes his interest rate to adjust higher and his payment to go up to $550/mo. Well, he managed that before, and he can do it again- but gas is up to $3 a gallon from $2 a gallon when he lived in his apartment. He's paying bills late, but still paying, then the rate jumps again and he's paying $600/mo and gas is at $4/gal and projected to hit $5/gal soon. He starts missing payments. The rate goes up "X" gets more and more behind and forecloses because he was fooled and a fool. When he bought the house, he could pay for it; and the Bank man assured him the rate wouldn't adjust for a year or two or more and it wouldn't adjust by much. Unfortunately, it adjusted twice in six months and adjusted by more than a point each time.
So now, the default rate is 20% instead of 10%. That hurts, and causes some companies to issue more bonds to cover immediate cash needs, but everything is stable. The lenders have already lent to everyone remotely worth lending. The Housing market follows oil and plateaus. Except, the lenders haven't stopped lending. The stupid people agree to loans they couldn't POSSIBLY afford; and the greedy businesses continue to make more loans and sell them to global investors because they can pull in hundreds of thousands (instead of hundreds of millions, but still good money, right? Right? RIGHT!?! AMIRITE!!111). Finally, one too many people default.
A solid company, invested in low risk markets like oil and housing starts to issue more bonds to cover some of its debt. Those bonds get insured by CDSs and those CDSs are covered by further CDSs. The solid company becomes shaky, more bonds, fewer CDSs- but more profitable for CDS speculators (so long as the compnay doesn't collapse, and it's been stable for 200 years, it would NEVER coll...). One too many defaults and the company collapses inside 6 months of being stable. Now those CDSs come up.
The company that went under had CDSs on some other companies. Some of those companies, less historically firm, have hit their one too many mark and crashed as well. Now, CDSs are being called in. The money isn't there. Yadda Yadda Yadda, Today.
That's where we find ourselves, and there's a single simple perpetrator. A slimy, greasy, suspect, motherfucker, who deserves nothing but our contempt, our hatred, and our rage. The perpetrator is: Damn-near-every-fucking-body. Greedy Businesses, Stupid and Greedy People, Government Regulators, Politicians, Banks, Investors, everybody. It's not a US problem, it's not a Europe Problem. It's a World Market Problem. The reason it's a World Market Problem, is because- and correct me if I'm wrong- WE'RE A GLOBAL ECONOMY! Everyone's business is intertwined with everyone else's. If shit goes south in Japan in the 90s, it hurts us here, if it hurts us, it hurts Europe, if it hurts Europe it hurts Asia, guess where Japan is? Asia, a part of the world you MAY have heard of...
The Prius has taken a hit- one down, now if iAnything would be shown, conclusively, to cause ovaries development in men and cancer in anyone with ovaries I'd be able to smile once in a while. November sales for the Prius have dropped 48%, according to Toyota. Everyone's blaming the dramatic fall in gas prices from $4/gal back to ~$1.60/gal. Uhm... I have a thought on this... could it be... maybe.. that we're in a RECESSION? Could it be that people are losing their jobs, scared of losing their jobs, still nervous from how $4/gal gas came outta nowhere [Mention Peak Oil and I'll hunt you down, remove your sexual characteristics with a rusty spoon, and force you to watch Maddow, or O'Reilly, while listening to "It's a small world" on infinite loop.], hurt from the loss of 50% of their retirement plan's value, and in a million other ways not buying $40k cars? Show me 1 single car over, let's say $20k that hasn't seen a drop from last year. I'd bet, you can't. And I'd bet that the more expensive the car, the bigger the drop in sales. Gas being "cheap", if it has ANYTHING to do with it, is probably not responsible for more than 3% of the decline, I'd bet. (Complete supposition there, based on how "environmentally" conscious everyone got when they could afford to be................. ahem........) . . . . . .................. . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
Right.
One last thing: Nade-off-with-the-money. First off, Jewish people who say they have it rough in Florida should be forced to have it exactly as rough as they try to say. Secondly, British Cry Babies who boo-hoo American Regulation should try and think before they speak. American Regulators fucked up, they were warned about this douche bag a couple times, sure. Yet, I keep coming abck tot eh NPR interview I heard with a money manager who had decided not to invest with the guy. The Manager said if the person controlling the money isn't willing to tell us how he's making his profits, we're not willing to trust him with our money. He also said that consistent 1% monthly growth was unreasonable. In other words, He said "We use common fucking sense, and so we didn't get burned by this shithead." The fact that the guy is Jewish and a lot of Jewish investors and Charities got swindled, that means nothing. He didn't target them for being Jewish, he's a fucking criminal and saw a mark.
The thing that should be talked about, isn't the 50 billion he screwed people out of, it's how extremely rare is such a con-job. A year ago in France, this same sorta fraud happened for $7 billion. One person was saying that this wouldn't be the last fraud. Hedge Funds are, like the CDSs that spread the financial crises out from US housing and across markets/the world, sorely lacking in regulations.
"But regulation is bad."
The regulations I am a HUGE proponent of, are TRANSPARENCY and DISCLOSURE. You want a free market? Okay, open your books. Your system of correctly guessing isn't a trade secret. It's a system of guessing. Research can make the guessing more accurate, more likely to make money; but it's still guessing. Fuck you, show us EVERYTHING.
And that goes for all financial EVERYTHINGS. Show us the money. Where is it? Who is promised to? How's it being made? Account for where it is currently!
Accountability, Transparency, Disclosure. If they don't have them, don't do business with 'em. And you, Jewish or Gentile, won't get bilked. Read More...
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Word of the Day
Fucked.
Definition:
Having been, or about to be, in an untenable situation.
Use it in a sentence:
Fucked, definitely fucked.
Related terms:
Rejected. Read More...
Definition:
Having been, or about to be, in an untenable situation.
Use it in a sentence:
Fucked, definitely fucked.
Related terms:
Rejected. Read More...
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Stuck in my head
Now, stuck in yours...
Yes, it is that song from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Isolated by Chiasm.
Enjoy. Read More...
Yes, it is that song from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Isolated by Chiasm.
Enjoy. Read More...
Monday, December 08, 2008
Island Songs
There is an island, in a calm blue sea, where the beaches are white and it's warm all year long. The trees of the inland jungles provide shade, sustenance, and shelter; the seas provide everything else. Walking the trails, the sandy routes, and the roads, it's hard not to taste citrus, fresh seafood, and rum. In the south of the island, sits a shack with a history.
The shack was built in the late 1970s by a local. It has a window, a stable door he found on the beach days before- and that inspired the construction project- a cistern on the tin roof, and a small wood stove. The man, called Coconut Bobby by most people, lived in the shack for eight years before he vanished one day. The story is that he was taken by the sea for being so glum all the time; but, in reality, he probably moved to Canada like he always said he would.
It had been a particularly hot week, and Coconut Bobby was doing a project for a local European transplant. It was landscaping in the heat and the sun, but Coconut got paid enough to have a pocket full of dollars and a hand full of rum. Coconut's job was clearing trees and underbrush, then laying sod that had been shipped in from other islands. After a long week in the hot, Coconut was in need of some relief.
Terry's Bongo Bungaloo was an ironically named shed- barely bigger than Coconut's- cum bar; and after a quick swim to wash off the day's sweat, Coconut made his way to the popular local spot. The night started off well, with some fresh fish local beers and liquers; and steadily got worse. As the booze flowed, the care free celebration of another week finished faded, and became, to Coconut, more and more a bunch of people trying desperately to forget that it was all still there, nothing different, to be done again the next week.
Coconut often helped Terry shutter up the Bungaloo at the end of the night, and that Friday was no different than most, in that respect. Terry, though, had noticed Coconut's dour mood and the steady downward trend in his friend's expression throughout the night. Once it was quiet, and the pressing demand of paying customers had mostly subsided, Terry asked Coconut what was wrong.
"It's the same old thing," lamented Coconut Bobby. "Every week, we work int he sun, sweat in the sand, and at the end we come here and act like that was the end. Then, come Monday, it all starts again. Tomorrow, Maria will knock on my stable door and ask if I want to go for a swim and lunch. We'll have a good time, until she has to leave for work. Then I won't see her again until Wednesday, when she comes by for a quick romp after work. Sunday, Mrs. Baker will pop by after church and ask why I wasn't there, I'll see some of the Rastas and they'll take their turn preaching at me, and if I need to goto the store I'll be prayed for by an old rich white woman who thinks my 'eternal soul is in peril'." He sighed, drank his beer, and dragged on his cigarette. "And Monday it all starts again." He shook his head, sad and weary.
Terry told Coconut it was that way every where, every when. "Different places, different faces, same ol' game. Always and forever." He asked why Coconut was thinking about that, now.
"The heat. Every day, sunny, warm, hot, a breif shower, or a few days of rain, warm into the night, cool while you sleep, then the same thing again and again. I can't even take the time to love Maria because it gets too sticky, it's always already too hot, and I'm exhausted from the heat by the time we're done with our little sprints, anyway." He shook his head, that same sad and weary gesture. "Too hot, man."
"Where would jah go?"
"Canada, man. They have seasons there. It snows. At least the weather would change." Coconut stood, and took in the island. The salt smell of breakers from the nearby beach, the taste of saltwater in the air, the fading odors of lemon and shellfish from Terry's last batch of shrimp. His belly was full, but not cumbersomely so, there was a warm, fuzzy, enjoyable glow about his experiences- obviously due to drink. It was paradise, he'd been told that by everyone all his life; and he was fed up with it.
The next day, Coconut wasn't there when Maria stopped by; nor was he there the day after when Mrs. Baker came calling. The shack sat empty for a month before a new soul filled its vacancy. That, however, is a story for a different time. Tonight, though, on the island in the calm sea, with music wafting lightly on the salted air, the lemon and seafood fragrance making the rum and the beer taste better, and each causing the other to flow more free, there is still a shack in the south; and in a better world, there's a happy Coconut Bobby freezing in the Canadian winter. Read More...
The shack was built in the late 1970s by a local. It has a window, a stable door he found on the beach days before- and that inspired the construction project- a cistern on the tin roof, and a small wood stove. The man, called Coconut Bobby by most people, lived in the shack for eight years before he vanished one day. The story is that he was taken by the sea for being so glum all the time; but, in reality, he probably moved to Canada like he always said he would.
It had been a particularly hot week, and Coconut Bobby was doing a project for a local European transplant. It was landscaping in the heat and the sun, but Coconut got paid enough to have a pocket full of dollars and a hand full of rum. Coconut's job was clearing trees and underbrush, then laying sod that had been shipped in from other islands. After a long week in the hot, Coconut was in need of some relief.
Terry's Bongo Bungaloo was an ironically named shed- barely bigger than Coconut's- cum bar; and after a quick swim to wash off the day's sweat, Coconut made his way to the popular local spot. The night started off well, with some fresh fish local beers and liquers; and steadily got worse. As the booze flowed, the care free celebration of another week finished faded, and became, to Coconut, more and more a bunch of people trying desperately to forget that it was all still there, nothing different, to be done again the next week.
Coconut often helped Terry shutter up the Bungaloo at the end of the night, and that Friday was no different than most, in that respect. Terry, though, had noticed Coconut's dour mood and the steady downward trend in his friend's expression throughout the night. Once it was quiet, and the pressing demand of paying customers had mostly subsided, Terry asked Coconut what was wrong.
"It's the same old thing," lamented Coconut Bobby. "Every week, we work int he sun, sweat in the sand, and at the end we come here and act like that was the end. Then, come Monday, it all starts again. Tomorrow, Maria will knock on my stable door and ask if I want to go for a swim and lunch. We'll have a good time, until she has to leave for work. Then I won't see her again until Wednesday, when she comes by for a quick romp after work. Sunday, Mrs. Baker will pop by after church and ask why I wasn't there, I'll see some of the Rastas and they'll take their turn preaching at me, and if I need to goto the store I'll be prayed for by an old rich white woman who thinks my 'eternal soul is in peril'." He sighed, drank his beer, and dragged on his cigarette. "And Monday it all starts again." He shook his head, sad and weary.
Terry told Coconut it was that way every where, every when. "Different places, different faces, same ol' game. Always and forever." He asked why Coconut was thinking about that, now.
"The heat. Every day, sunny, warm, hot, a breif shower, or a few days of rain, warm into the night, cool while you sleep, then the same thing again and again. I can't even take the time to love Maria because it gets too sticky, it's always already too hot, and I'm exhausted from the heat by the time we're done with our little sprints, anyway." He shook his head, that same sad and weary gesture. "Too hot, man."
"Where would jah go?"
"Canada, man. They have seasons there. It snows. At least the weather would change." Coconut stood, and took in the island. The salt smell of breakers from the nearby beach, the taste of saltwater in the air, the fading odors of lemon and shellfish from Terry's last batch of shrimp. His belly was full, but not cumbersomely so, there was a warm, fuzzy, enjoyable glow about his experiences- obviously due to drink. It was paradise, he'd been told that by everyone all his life; and he was fed up with it.
The next day, Coconut wasn't there when Maria stopped by; nor was he there the day after when Mrs. Baker came calling. The shack sat empty for a month before a new soul filled its vacancy. That, however, is a story for a different time. Tonight, though, on the island in the calm sea, with music wafting lightly on the salted air, the lemon and seafood fragrance making the rum and the beer taste better, and each causing the other to flow more free, there is still a shack in the south; and in a better world, there's a happy Coconut Bobby freezing in the Canadian winter. Read More...
Friday, December 05, 2008
Obama's Change
Part of me wants to say "Leave Obama Alone!" The more savy of you should see an image of a whiny emo fucktard shitbag, mascara running, hands to red cheeks, crying, and screaming at you from the youtube. And that's an apt picture, because that's where the sentiment comes from: the whiny emo shittard fuckbag piece of me. Don't laugh, you have one too; and the more you deny it, the more we're sure that's the majority of the corny jokes and old sight gags, and favored talking-head recitations, you try to call a personality.
"Obama's recycling Clintonians. That's not change!" some people shout. Yet, Obama never specified what change he would usher in, as he is a good politician and therefore vague/ambiguous/disingenuous/whathaveyou. Clintonians are a change from the overwhelming flood of insane business, and social, conservatives Bush has coddled to his presidential teat. They're not a change, too, for obvious reasons.
The more thoughtful piece of me, that part that those of you who know me personally hate- because it won't leave anything alone, and demands I seek out more information about it- makes me consider other possibilities. This is the piece that makes me think the guy who couldn't feel his hand probably has either upper neck and shoulder trouble or very high back problems, or both. This is the piece that makes me comment on everything, as a way of trying to "sound it out", understand it fully, "grok" it for those Heinlein fans among you.
First, I consider that President-elect Obama has had his hand forced because of the economic problems helped along by Bush's "deregulation", "no government interference in the free market", and inability to fundamentally understand key concepts about reality, like calling a group of people- or their concerns- the "reality based" initiative/movement is the exact opposite of a derogatory comment. (Note that it was meant as such, and many took it to be so). Also, take care to read my wording, I said helped, not caused. Clinton and the demo-prats helped it along too; but I would like to throw back some comments I heard early in Bush II (pt1).
When the economy tanked in the early part of this decade, it was blamed on Clinton. Clinton's mismanagement caused that mini recession, due to his appointments, etc etc; and it couldn't be Bush's fault because he'd only been president for less than a year. Many people agreed that, if a president's policies could effect the economy it would be at the end of his term into the next president's. Ahem... well... Eight years after Bush's start we see where we are on that score.
But that's tangential, really. Obama's Change is the point of this- seeing as that's the title, it's sorta neat, AMIRITE?!?!!1 Maybe it's not the economic pressures that are forcing his hand, that made him run to tried and true and keep Gates- for the moment. Maybe he was lying about real change, and just wanted his demo-pratic cronies, instead of the repulican'ts currently in Washington. That is, at least, what I suspect some people are saying/thinking.
And that's the real issue, to me. Did he "intentionally mislead"? Did he lie? I'd say we'll know in 8 years. Not that Obama is ensured a second term, he's not- especially if the economy remains in the tank. But that will put us at the end of his presidency or four years after, and we;ll have a bit more perspective. For every thing someone may point to as evidence of their side (he's lying/he's not), there's one on the other, as well.
It comes down to, as so many things seem to, interpretation. Interpretation is a very touchy kind of thing. The Austrian Economists will tell you that Alphabet Agencies caused the Great Depression to be longer. It was reported in my local newspaper some time ago as fact. What they won't tell you is that Austrian Economics are an interpretation with their own problems. Interpretation is a very subjective experience, it asks a person to take some (at its best) facts and jiggle them around inside their dinkum-thinkums until an answer plops out. That is the essence of interpretation, and the EXACT reason anything that is concluded due to interpretation should be viewed with suspicion, and taken with a grain of salt.
There are interpretations that can be trusted, rather easily, too. These would be include such scientifically accepted ideas as the Theory of Relativity. Theory, sorta, means it's an interpretation of the way the universe works; BUT as a scientific theory, it also means there has been objective testing done that confirms predictions made by the theory. Take evolution: it's a theory not because it's unprovable; but because we can't actually go back and see evolution take place. Other than that one detail, it makes predictions, all of them have been true, and the only thing that is currently disputed is the mechanisms of how it happens (not if it happens- which it does).
Obama is going to be watched 24/7 in a way that other president's have not. Clinton felt some of this, with the dawnings of the internet, Bush got more of it, as the internet (and the blogosphere) really prospered [despite some of the laws that went into effect under him]. Yet, Obama is the first black president- or will be on January 20th (depends totally on when you read this). Add the economic crisis, that's been here since December 2007, and the changing status of America in a world/superpower context, add Obama's commitment to be the most wired presidency yet; and you're starting to get the picture.
When people tell me Obama is just another huckster bullshit artist politician, I squint at them, and try to make sure I'm seeing them clearly. There's only two types of people that seem to truly believe it- and a third that loves to say it: (1) the true believer, who thinks only the Repulican'ts are capable of really truly running America "well", (2) The cynical jackass who really and truly hates when anyone else is happy/optimistic/not-a-jackass, (3) The Vacuous idiot, or chicken little douchebag, who is simply spouting the verbal diarrhea of the talking-head they jerk-off to the most.
I'm not saying "Give Obama a chance". Fuck it, if you've already made up your mind, let me know- so I can ignore you for the next four years. What I am saying is, it's too early to tell, yet. Know how you can tell THAT? Because he's not even the president- not until January 20, 2009. There's a saying that every one of you has heard, and it's apt here; it's about eggs and baskets. Obama might only be a change because of his skin color, which would be the saddest thing, in my opinion; but even if that does prove to be the case, it's still change, and that means he didn't completely lie. Read More...
"Obama's recycling Clintonians. That's not change!" some people shout. Yet, Obama never specified what change he would usher in, as he is a good politician and therefore vague/ambiguous/disingenuous/whathaveyou. Clintonians are a change from the overwhelming flood of insane business, and social, conservatives Bush has coddled to his presidential teat. They're not a change, too, for obvious reasons.
The more thoughtful piece of me, that part that those of you who know me personally hate- because it won't leave anything alone, and demands I seek out more information about it- makes me consider other possibilities. This is the piece that makes me think the guy who couldn't feel his hand probably has either upper neck and shoulder trouble or very high back problems, or both. This is the piece that makes me comment on everything, as a way of trying to "sound it out", understand it fully, "grok" it for those Heinlein fans among you.
First, I consider that President-elect Obama has had his hand forced because of the economic problems helped along by Bush's "deregulation", "no government interference in the free market", and inability to fundamentally understand key concepts about reality, like calling a group of people- or their concerns- the "reality based" initiative/movement is the exact opposite of a derogatory comment. (Note that it was meant as such, and many took it to be so). Also, take care to read my wording, I said helped, not caused. Clinton and the demo-prats helped it along too; but I would like to throw back some comments I heard early in Bush II (pt1).
When the economy tanked in the early part of this decade, it was blamed on Clinton. Clinton's mismanagement caused that mini recession, due to his appointments, etc etc; and it couldn't be Bush's fault because he'd only been president for less than a year. Many people agreed that, if a president's policies could effect the economy it would be at the end of his term into the next president's. Ahem... well... Eight years after Bush's start we see where we are on that score.
But that's tangential, really. Obama's Change is the point of this- seeing as that's the title, it's sorta neat, AMIRITE?!?!!1 Maybe it's not the economic pressures that are forcing his hand, that made him run to tried and true and keep Gates- for the moment. Maybe he was lying about real change, and just wanted his demo-pratic cronies, instead of the repulican'ts currently in Washington. That is, at least, what I suspect some people are saying/thinking.
And that's the real issue, to me. Did he "intentionally mislead"? Did he lie? I'd say we'll know in 8 years. Not that Obama is ensured a second term, he's not- especially if the economy remains in the tank. But that will put us at the end of his presidency or four years after, and we;ll have a bit more perspective. For every thing someone may point to as evidence of their side (he's lying/he's not), there's one on the other, as well.
It comes down to, as so many things seem to, interpretation. Interpretation is a very touchy kind of thing. The Austrian Economists will tell you that Alphabet Agencies caused the Great Depression to be longer. It was reported in my local newspaper some time ago as fact. What they won't tell you is that Austrian Economics are an interpretation with their own problems. Interpretation is a very subjective experience, it asks a person to take some (at its best) facts and jiggle them around inside their dinkum-thinkums until an answer plops out. That is the essence of interpretation, and the EXACT reason anything that is concluded due to interpretation should be viewed with suspicion, and taken with a grain of salt.
There are interpretations that can be trusted, rather easily, too. These would be include such scientifically accepted ideas as the Theory of Relativity. Theory, sorta, means it's an interpretation of the way the universe works; BUT as a scientific theory, it also means there has been objective testing done that confirms predictions made by the theory. Take evolution: it's a theory not because it's unprovable; but because we can't actually go back and see evolution take place. Other than that one detail, it makes predictions, all of them have been true, and the only thing that is currently disputed is the mechanisms of how it happens (not if it happens- which it does).
Obama is going to be watched 24/7 in a way that other president's have not. Clinton felt some of this, with the dawnings of the internet, Bush got more of it, as the internet (and the blogosphere) really prospered [despite some of the laws that went into effect under him]. Yet, Obama is the first black president- or will be on January 20th (depends totally on when you read this). Add the economic crisis, that's been here since December 2007, and the changing status of America in a world/superpower context, add Obama's commitment to be the most wired presidency yet; and you're starting to get the picture.
When people tell me Obama is just another huckster bullshit artist politician, I squint at them, and try to make sure I'm seeing them clearly. There's only two types of people that seem to truly believe it- and a third that loves to say it: (1) the true believer, who thinks only the Repulican'ts are capable of really truly running America "well", (2) The cynical jackass who really and truly hates when anyone else is happy/optimistic/not-a-jackass, (3) The Vacuous idiot, or chicken little douchebag, who is simply spouting the verbal diarrhea of the talking-head they jerk-off to the most.
I'm not saying "Give Obama a chance". Fuck it, if you've already made up your mind, let me know- so I can ignore you for the next four years. What I am saying is, it's too early to tell, yet. Know how you can tell THAT? Because he's not even the president- not until January 20, 2009. There's a saying that every one of you has heard, and it's apt here; it's about eggs and baskets. Obama might only be a change because of his skin color, which would be the saddest thing, in my opinion; but even if that does prove to be the case, it's still change, and that means he didn't completely lie. Read More...
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