Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Bailouts
In the bailouts the government's given so far to Bear Stearns, AIG and Freddie and Fannie they've pretty much just given money to these companies. Why can't the government work a deal like this out for the taxpayers?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Barack Obama
*Warning* Political Post Ahead *Warning*
I like John McCain, I've liked John McCain ever since 2000, I'm going to vote for John McCain. That said, I feel bad for Barack Obama. Barack might have questionable associations (Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko), his shameless backers in the media may have behaved poorly thus far in the campaign (Kieth Olbermann, the attempted hit on Palin's daughter, the coverage of his trip to the Middle East and then Europe), you may strongly disagree with his policy preferences (tax and spend, pull out of Iraq, redistribute wealth, increase the size of the government), but Barack himself seems like a real stand up guy.
He's been beat up by the RNC, by John McCain's campaign, and particularly on right wing outlets for his 'lipstick on a pig' comment and his 'guns and religion' comment, among other things, which are all really stupid things to go after a guy on. I've never seen Barack do this on the other hand, he readily defended Palin's pregnant daughter, he put distance between himself and Rev. Wright, and I've never heard him sieze on something stupid another politician has said. He seems to have a genuine love for the USA, he seems legitimately interested in building bridges with his political opponents, he seems interested in repairing the image of the US abroad, he's fully behind the war on terror, even if not the current occupation in Iraq. With few exceptions in his campaign he's stayed on point with with his plans, and very seldom used pointless negativity when he speaks. So, yeah, Barack seems like an OK guy to me and here's hoping for a productive discussion of the issues that face America over the next couple of months.
I like John McCain, I've liked John McCain ever since 2000, I'm going to vote for John McCain. That said, I feel bad for Barack Obama. Barack might have questionable associations (Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko), his shameless backers in the media may have behaved poorly thus far in the campaign (Kieth Olbermann, the attempted hit on Palin's daughter, the coverage of his trip to the Middle East and then Europe), you may strongly disagree with his policy preferences (tax and spend, pull out of Iraq, redistribute wealth, increase the size of the government), but Barack himself seems like a real stand up guy.
He's been beat up by the RNC, by John McCain's campaign, and particularly on right wing outlets for his 'lipstick on a pig' comment and his 'guns and religion' comment, among other things, which are all really stupid things to go after a guy on. I've never seen Barack do this on the other hand, he readily defended Palin's pregnant daughter, he put distance between himself and Rev. Wright, and I've never heard him sieze on something stupid another politician has said. He seems to have a genuine love for the USA, he seems legitimately interested in building bridges with his political opponents, he seems interested in repairing the image of the US abroad, he's fully behind the war on terror, even if not the current occupation in Iraq. With few exceptions in his campaign he's stayed on point with with his plans, and very seldom used pointless negativity when he speaks. So, yeah, Barack seems like an OK guy to me and here's hoping for a productive discussion of the issues that face America over the next couple of months.
Deads
I got really excited when I came to the gym today because there was a kid at the rack next to me who had the bar loaded up to 450lbs and looked ready to pick it up. I've never seen anyone in real life lift that much weight, so I was pretty happy I'd get to see that kind of pull. So he bent down and grabbed the bar, then went and took a drink of water, then sat on the calf raise machine, then stretched his back, then took 45lbs off the bar, the stretched his back again, then took another drink of water, and then he looked at the bar again. Twenty minutes later he went and got a friend to unload the bar for him, I was kind of disappointed but he was acting like he might have hurt his back on a previous pull, so I'll try not to be too upset. Maybe next time.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Same As It Always Was
From Volume II, Book II, Chapter III of Les Miserables:
"Towards the end of October, in that same year, 1823, the inhabitants of Toulon beheld the entry into their port, after heavy weather, and for the purpose of repairing some damages, of the ship Orion, which was employed later at Brest as a school-ship, and which then formed a part of the Mediterranean squadron.
This vessel, battered as it was,--for the sea had handled it roughly,-- produced a fine effect as it entered the roads. It flew some colors which procured for it the regulation salute of eleven guns, which it returned, shot for shot; total, twenty-two. It has been calculated that what with salvos, royal and military politenesses, courteous exchanges of uproar, signals of etiquette, formalities of roadsteads and citadels, sunrises and sunsets, saluted every day by all fortresses and all ships of war, openings and closings of ports, etc., the civilized world, discharged all over the earth, in the course of four and twenty hours, one hundred and fifty thousand useless shots. At six francs the shot, that comes to nine hundred thousand francs a day, three hundred millions a year, which vanish in smoke. This is a mere detail. All this time the poor were dying of hunger."
I thought that was interesting. So much of what Hugo editorializes in this book are the same kinds of things people complain about now regarding the government.
"Towards the end of October, in that same year, 1823, the inhabitants of Toulon beheld the entry into their port, after heavy weather, and for the purpose of repairing some damages, of the ship Orion, which was employed later at Brest as a school-ship, and which then formed a part of the Mediterranean squadron.
This vessel, battered as it was,--for the sea had handled it roughly,-- produced a fine effect as it entered the roads. It flew some colors which procured for it the regulation salute of eleven guns, which it returned, shot for shot; total, twenty-two. It has been calculated that what with salvos, royal and military politenesses, courteous exchanges of uproar, signals of etiquette, formalities of roadsteads and citadels, sunrises and sunsets, saluted every day by all fortresses and all ships of war, openings and closings of ports, etc., the civilized world, discharged all over the earth, in the course of four and twenty hours, one hundred and fifty thousand useless shots. At six francs the shot, that comes to nine hundred thousand francs a day, three hundred millions a year, which vanish in smoke. This is a mere detail. All this time the poor were dying of hunger."
I thought that was interesting. So much of what Hugo editorializes in this book are the same kinds of things people complain about now regarding the government.
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