I came across this terrific music video today by Cake Secret.

GoogleVideo (YouTube's owner) has cencored this video a couple of times as being inappropriate for minors. After reviewing the piece myself, I didn't see or hear any cursing, violence, nudeness, or anything - and I tow a pretty hard line on that kind of stuff. As of this posting, the video was up and happy. If for some reason the video doesn't play or says it has been removed, please let me know. Thanks.

Enjoy!!

I am so frustrated right now, and there's plenty of ire for everyone!

First and foremost, there seems to be a disconnect here. This is NOT a "Bailout." This is an Investment... an investment in ourselves, you and me.

I was shocked to hear person after person on tv and radio say that they didn't want to bailout "the Wall Street fat cats" and "we don't have $700B, where are we going to get that money?" and "...let them fail, I don't care."

The fact is, you should care a great deal. Today's reaction in the stock market was a first step in the very grave consequences revealing themselves to us now.

Here is a link to my "Memo..., part 1" where I go into a little more detail as to why so-called everyday people should care.

Thie idea of the US government investing money in certain US business and sectors is nothing new.

Here's one: the housing buy-up in the 1930's. With over half of the home with a mortgage in forclosure in the 1930s, FDR (among lots of other things) created the FHA which facilitated troubled mortgages to be refinanced into much more feasable terms. In the end, we made money because the mortgages in greeat part were paid in full with interest.

Here's another one that's in our more recent memory: the Chrysler "bailout" of 1979. Actually, this "bailout" was a $1.7B loan guarantee - an essentially free thing - with certain conditions that would make sure Chrysler got themselves out of the mess thay got themselves into. In the end, Chrysler performed, paid the fees and interest back, and we earned $350MM

Just recently, AIG was "bailed out." Want to know what the terms are? It's a 2 year line-of-credit of up to $89B earning interest at LIBOR plus 8.5. (Right now, I think that adds up to 12.5%) For this, we get an equity stake of 79.9% interest in the company. Pretty sweet, right?! Yeah, I thought so.

Americans lost one trillion dollars today. ONE TRILLION. That's this many: $1,000,000,000,000.00. In one (1) trading day consisting of a scant eight (8) hours. Something has to be done and we have to do in now.

As far as I can tell, the biggest problem with the Rescue Bill as it sits right now is that it doesn't go far enough to really fix the problem. What's missing?

Well, here are four main issues that would go a long way to FIX the issues roiling our markets:

1) Call on FDIC insurance to increase max coverage from $100k to $1MM starting NOW

2) Call on immediate 1/4pt rate cut from Fed

3) Call on current Rescue Bill to add the following provisions:
a) Suspension (or cut by half) Cap Gains for 6 - 12mo
b) Tax-free repatriation of $$ for 6-12mo.
c) END Mark-to-Market

4) Call on the SEC (FTC?) to suspend naked shortselling

As every good contract says, "time is of the essence." Truer words were never said!

McCain is right, now is not the time to fix blame; it's time to fix the problem. I take that to heart, and you should too.

Some Quick Hits in No Particular Order...

Since the mid 1990s when the Community Reinvestment Act was expanded to force banks to lend to otherwise uncreditworthy borrowers, the process began that ended with the bailout announced today. It's like this crisis is a little kitty cat; and the kitty cat is creeping slowly towards you...

The First Bailout Effort...

DEAR AMERICAN:

I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.

I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 800 BILLION DOLLARS US. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.

THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED A BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED.

PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION, I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS THAT WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

MINISTER OF TREASURY PAULSON

Americans Come to Realize the Enormity of the Looming Financial Crisis

Polar Bear Reacts to News of Global Cooling...

It looks like there's a deal...

There will be some junk in it for sure. I just hope the "Community Reinvestment Act Organizations" (a/k/a ACORN) provisions are o-u-t!

A couple of days ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid surrepticiously submitted a ban of oil shale production. He did so as an ammendment to the stimulus package currently in the works in the Senate.

So, since the Democrats' unmitigated defeat to further hobble America's ability to be energy self-sufficient, Senator Reid's very best idea is to sneak in a shale oil exploration and production ban.

What do we do about it? Well, here is Reid's contact info. How about taking a quick moment to let him know that America's energy independence is the keystone to our future security and prosperity.

Senator Harry Reid
528 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542
Fax: 202-224-7327
Toll Free for Nevadans:
1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343)
Reid's email form

Here's the latest corn maze direct from Whitehouse, OH...

It's Sarah America!

... kewl

When I came across this a couple of days ago, I thought, "Oh, this will be interesting."

I expected to read about how Barack Obama really worked at XYZ for "2 years," instead of the "3 and a half years" he said -- you know, garden variety puffery we hear about in our everyday lives.

I was shocked to read the extent of Obama's exaggerations.

If some guy was interviewing me for a job and I found out the extent of his, well, fibs, I would give the guy a "thanks-but-no-thanks."

See, these distortions are bold, outrageous, and unnecessary. That this is what the guy leads with makes him untrustworthy.

If this is the level of distortion he will go to in order to get the job, what standard - or lack thereof - will he hold to keep it?

Here's a snippet from this middle...

"Here’s Barack’s account:

"Eventually a consulting house to multinational corporations agreed to hire me as a research assistant. Like a spy behind enemy lines, I arrived every day at my mid-Manhattan office and sat at my computer terminal, checking the Reuters machine that blinked bright emerald messages from across the globe. As far as I could tell I was the only black man in the company, a source of shame for me but a source of considerable pride for the company’s secretarial pool.

"First, it wasn’t a consulting house; it was a small company that published newsletters on international business. Like most newsletter publishers, it was a bit of a sweatshop. I’m sure we all wished that we were high-priced consultants to multinational corporations. But we also enjoyed coming in at ten, wearing jeans to work, flirting with our co-workers, partying when we stayed late, and bonding over the low salaries and heavy workload."

Read the whole thing...

It's no wonder Obama punted the financial crisis. He's got nothing.

Dave Letterman threw a bizarre tantrum throughout his show, complaining about McCain's cancellation of his appearance.

Nobody likes the place we are at with regards to the Financial crisis our federal legislative bodies are dealing with right now. Everybody agrees that there are many people at fault here, but nobody dealing with this situation seriously disputes the very grave state our fundemantal monetary system is in right now.

I've heard several pundits rail about how the market must cleanse itself; that this is a cathartic process that will help us all, blah, blah, blah.

This might be true but for one thing: it is the flow of money that is our economy. No flow means no economy. No economy means no wealth - for anyone.

No flow of money for anyone means no home loans, no credit cards, no CD's (certificates of deposit), no money markets, no new jobs, massive job losses, no new businesses, no food (farmers finance their crops), no clothes and goods (stores finance their stocks)... the list goes on and on.

Everybody wishes we weren't here. But here we are. We can either whine about it and stomp our feet and let pout and do nothing, or, we can roll up our sleeves, be grown-ups, and do what we gotta do to make sure that - from a financial perspective - we don't lose it all.

This is a big deal. Our leaders need to suck it up, do what's right, and pass a "bail out" package now.

I would say that this could a tremendous opportunity. Imagine if we suspended capital gains tax for three years? Imagine if we cut the corporate income tax by half? Imagine the coupling of a revolutionary financial "bail out" with an equally revolutionary energy policy that releases our fine people to develop our domestic resources? The wealth we would create would pay back the taxpayers their $700B plus more (a lot more!).

I can't help but smile at such a possibily.

Awesome music video... FUN

by Pat Garret

(h/t stix1972)

I'm outraged at this latest attempt by Congress to dupe the American People with this phony oil drilling bill dubbed "Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act."

For those who are interested, here's a link to the text of the bill.

Here's the article from the Associated Press. It reads, in part...

WASHINGTON - Offshore oil drilling, which has dominated energy debates in the presidential campaign, is now coming to the Senate.

The House late Tuesday approved on a 236-189 vote legislation that would open waters 50 miles off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts to oil and natural gas development — if the adjacent states agree to go along.

The legislation now goes to the Senate, where Democratic leaders are expected to mold it to their liking in the next few days.

So far, the Senate has indicated it has no intention of going as far as the House in expanding offshore oil and gas drilling beyond the western Gulf of Mexico, where energy companies have been pumping oil and gas for decades... continued...

Ramblings of an Average American's Yubaduck has a keen analysis and summary of the Bill. It starts out...

I saw this headline and thought to myself, "Yes, we did it, our pressure forced them to concede." But then I looked closer. Here is the AP story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/offshore_drilling

Its headline reads "House approves offshore drilling" and describes a bill which will do far more harm than good. The essentials:

1) "The House has voted to allow oil drilling off the nation's Atlantic and Pacific coasts if states agree — but only 50 or more miles out" and "The Democrats' bill would allow drilling in waters 50 miles from shore almost everywhere from New England to Washington state as long as a state agrees to go along with energy development off its coast line. Beyond 100 miles, no state approval would be required. The drilling ban would remain in the eastern Gulf of Mexico." and "They cited Interior Department estimates that 88 percent of the 18 billion barrels of oil believed to be in waters now under drilling bans would remain off limits because they are within 50 miles of shore. And they said few states would likely agree to drilling since the bill does not provide states with any of the royalties from the new energy production"

So it allows the states to vote for themselves on drilling, and since they get nothing from it, most of them would likely vote no. It permanently limits drilling any closer to 50 miles out, putting off limits in perpetuity the best chance of large oil reserves...

Read it all...

Thanks to the world wide interwebs, I put together a quick reference guide to the Republicans for supported this disingenuous legislation with their vote. You can see the entire vote record here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll599.xml

Republicans (w/link to their websites) who voted for this baaaad Bill:

Vern Buchanan, Florida 13th
Mike Castle, Delaware
Wayne Gilchrest, Maryland 1st
Robin Hayes, North Carolina 8th
Bob Inglis, South Carolina 4th
Walter Jones, North Carolina 3rd
Mark Kirk, Illinois 10th
Joeseph Knollenberg, Michigan 9th
Ray LaHood, Illinois 18th
Frank LoBiondo, New Jersey 2nd
Jon Porter, Nevada 3rd
Jim Ramstad, Minnesota 3rd
David Reichert, Washington 8th
Christopher Shays, Connecticut 5th
Chris Smith, New Jersey 4th

A complete listing of Representatives and their websites can be found here. Let's give them a call to let them know they did a bad thing by voting for the "Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act."

By the way, here's a complete listing for the Senators, listed by state.

We need to take action and let our Congress know that we will not stand for half-measures and non-solutions. Remember, if we don't tell them, they won't know! So take a quick moment right now to call and write your Senators and Representatives to let them know we want actual, real energy independence.

We want the freedom to drill were the oil and natural gas is - not where it isn't.
We want the freedom to build oil, natural gas, and coal refineries to process our abundant natural resources.
We want the freedom to implement our clean, safe, advanced technologies and build nuclear power plants
We want freedom from our government held hostage by fringe special-intrest groups.
We want the freedom to become energy independent

LET US FREE!

We have the people, we have the technology, we have the resources. Don't we have the will?

I was watching the news earlier today when I heard something remarkable: The Obama Campaign has decided to quit attacking Sarah Palin. In fact, the reports went so far as to say that the GOP vice-presidential nominee would not be mentioned by name again within the campaign.

Is this for real? I think someone's been reading Harry Potter ... !

* * *

As far as the Saturday Night Live Palin/Clinton skit from this weekend... I watched it Saturday night. My first reaction was, "Gee, that was performed way better than it was written."

Now that I've had a chance to watch it again, I have to say that but for the "milf - flirj" bit, it was a solid piece of writing. Here's the skit courtesy of NBC...

I have read and heard others talk about how unfair the depiction of Palin is - that she is written as 'dumb.' Well, I have to ask, so what else is new?? Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Dan Quayle, George W. Bush, and now Sarah Palin have ALL been universally protrayed as dummies, dolts, and dufuses.

There is a singular exception to this rule that I can recall. The late, great Phil Hartman wrote and performed this classic skit, portraying Reagan's 'dumbness' as an act...

Dear Madame Governor,

I'm a registered voter in California.

I wanted to take a moment to let you know that I will vote for you and Senator McCain to lead our nation this fall, and I will do so enthusiastically.

I will tell you why:
I love your attitude. I keep waiting for that "wait just a minute there, buster" moment ... I know it's coming!
I love your speaking style. Plain, straightforward english - not the normal Politic-ese
I love your support for energy independence (incl drilling!). You are soooo right when you say that Energy is Security
I love your support of clean government. And you have a record to prove it.
I love your support and completion of the AK Pipeline. This truly is a big deal.
I love your opposition to listing the polar bears as 'endagered.'
I don't love the little whisps I have heard about your support of 'man-made global warming.' Really? Seriously? (sigh.)
I love your support of commercial enterprise.
I love your support of human life.
I love your support of sport.
I love your unique background as a sportscaster. Your work at your local affiliate seems to have given you the insight and temper to handle these (nutty) 'mainstream-media' types.
I love your unflappable-ness.
I love that you love a good turn of phrase: "Pray not that God's on our side, but that we are on God's side;" "Some use change to promote their careers while others [McCain] use their careers to promote change."

Finally, I love that you are in this race, and I so very much look forward to seeing and hearing what you have to say next. And I'm really, REALLY looking forward to seeing you as our next Vice-President.

With warmest regards,

John McCain appeared on The View with his wife Cindy today, 09-12-08.

The only criticism I have for the enitre guest spot is when Whoppie Goldberg, responding to McCain's statement about nominating judges that ahere to interpreting the Constitution as written asks, "Should I be concerned about slavery?"

Instead of glibbly replying, "Well, we have this thing called the 14th Amendment, perhaps you've heard of it?" McCain said, "Good point." (sigh)

Other than that, he did a bang-up job with 'da grrrls.' Another point of interest was that they asked repeatedly for Sarah Palin to come on the show. It was getting kind of beggy toward the end

Thanks to ABC and YouTube, you can watch it yourself...

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

In case you missed it, here are all four segments of the Bill O'Reilly - Barack Obama interview series. To their credit, there is a good bit of give-and-take.

After watching these segments, my conclusion is that every time Obama explains his position on issues, he makes his extreme-left outlook very clear. In a word: Yikes.

Here it is... special thanks to Fox News for letting this content out to be seen by us all.

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four: