McCain vs Obama - Round One

Just a quick commentary on the first Presidential debate which finished just over an hour ago.

I didn't see any knockout punches thrown by either candidate and didn't see a lot that surprised me from either one.  McCain looked weak, as expected, on the economy and was unable to give any specifics on what he'd do to improve life for the average voter and what he'd do to help solve this economic crisis.  Obama, on the other hand, did seem to be more comfortable on the topic and made it clear that his plan will benefit the American middle class...a demographic that McCain made no reference to during the entire debate.

When it came to foreign relations, McCain looked far more comfortable and was more assertive in his answers.  Obama more than held his own, but it was clear that the two men have definite differences in opinion.  I personally agree with Obama's position on the majority of the issues, although I wasn't comfortable with either candidate's blind allegiance to Georgia, who in my mind, had a great deal of responsibility for instigating their recent conflict with Russia.

At any rate, I score this round 10-9 Obama....thus far, it appears that some of the immediate reaction following the debate scored it the same way.  Next week's Biden-Palin debate should be called a no-contest already...I wouldn't be surprised if Palin's trainers throw in the towel before she even gets in the ring.

Let Them Eat Cake

I don't know why Marie Antoinette's infamous line came to mind...but it seems to me that Republicans on Capitol Hill seem to have that attitude today. The proposal to bail out Wall Street seemed to be a go today...that is, until House Republicans turned their meeting today at the White House into a circus.

There are various schools of thought on whether or not the US government should prop up the failing banks on Wall Street. Some oppose the idea of using public monies to save them from collapse while others think it critical to protect the American financial industry. I personally support the bailout proposal as long as there are safeguards in place to protect the necessary public investment, which is huge at 700 billion dollars. The way I see it, if taxpayers don't want to foot the bill now, they will certainly foot it later when they see their retirement savings and pension plans evaporate. That may not mean as much to younger voters, but for anyone planning to retire in the next few years, it could be devastating. And not only to Americans, but to investors worldwide.

What I can't understand is why House Republican, John Boehner, decided to stir up dissent now. President Bush, who has done very little right in his eight years in office, now is unable to even rely on the support of his own party in moving forward on the one of the few correct decisions he's made. My only theory is that this is a staged response, one that will allow John McCain to waltz in and take credit for bringing the dissidents to the table.

Sadly, this is utter bullshit. McCain, who has been a strong supporter of bank deregulation has zero credibility when it comes to battling this crisis. His "suspension" of his campaign was nothing but a political stunt after seeing his poll numbers sliding and watching his VP pick continue to flail around like an elephant in a china shop. I don't buy into comments suggesting he's scared to debate Obama, but I don't doubt that he'd like to delay the confrontation. Worse yet, suggesting rescheduling this debate on the date that the VP debate was supposed to fall was an even larger gaffe. Whether intentional or not, it gave the appearance that McCain's campaign is desperately worried about watching Palin drag down their support even further.

By all accounts, McCain said very little today aside from commenting that the US economy was in crisis. Uh...yeah. No frigging shit, John. You just figured that out? Barack Obama, while not an economic genius either, at least contributed to the discussion and had a few important points that will likely be included in the final proposal, if it ever comes to light.

In the meantime, while President Bush and his administration and Democrats attempt to solve this crisis in a timely manner, McCain sits silent, unable to offer anything useful, and House Republicans have chosen to politicize our retirement. Let them eat cake, eh? Thanks for putting the country first, jerkoffs.

Laugh Before Bed

Even Mad T.V. isn't this funny. The Palin trainwreck continues. Yikes.



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Commitment to Quality

I've recently discovered that my incoherent ramblings have actually been read by a few people who live outside of my postal code.

After the initial shock wore off, I realized that it might be a nice idea to try and keep this blog updated fairly regularly and keep the content fresh, innovative, and relevant. I also thought that I should tone down on coarse language, but I don't want to get too radical. One step at a time.

At any rate, I will attempt to mimic the "saintly" figure displayed here and be a good blogger. Both the American and Canadian elections will be over in the next couple of months, so please bear with me if my halo tarnishes every now and then.

G'night all!

Stop the Bleeding Already!

More bad news from Wall Street again, followed by the usual frenzy of a sliding market. Both New York and Toronto, as well as other world markets, have experienced some major dips in the past couple of weeks, making investors even more nervous and worried than they already were.

There's no question that the bailout of the world's largest insurer, the collapse of the fourth largest investment bank in the U.S., and woes suffered by a number of others is clear evidence that there are some serious issues in the American banking industry. Unfortunately, the punishment for their sins is being passed on us...in our investment portfolios, retirement plans, and pension funds.

As with every other period of market turbulence, eventually it must come to an end, and if history repeats itself, world markets will be at record high levels within the next five to ten years. It is critical that investors do not lose their cool and make rash decisions that simply add more gas to this fire. Already, hundreds of companies who have very little connection or correlation to the financial services industry are trading at 52 week lows and have seen their market capitalization hammered. Has anything changed in the last week that would cause a pharmaceutical company to be worth half what it was seven days ago? The answer is no, and believe me, once the aftershocks start dissipating...large institutional and personal investors will start shopping for bargains...and that's a train I want to be on.

Stay cool....everybody stay cool.

Rants on Music

Just a few minor issues to get off my chest.

Is it just me or does Rihanna suck? Back when her first single hit the airwaves and I had no idea who it was, I remember asking friends why radio would give someone with no vocal talent airplay. I'm no music expert, but I do know that singers with bad voices tend to sound more nasal or whiny to disguise their lack of ability. Lo and behold, I actually know what her name is and now that I've heard a few more of her "songs", I'm blown away that this is what passes for music today.

Then again, I say the same thing about Canadian supergroup, Rush. Even though they get more radio airtime than they deserve due to CRTC rules, every minute they do get makes me wonder when strangling cats was legalized. Terrible vocals and the most un-melodic music ever arranged. And to top it off, I'm 35 and I've never met a single person who likes them...or actually has a single Rush CD...or music on their IPod. Yeah, Rush sucks too...period.

I guess the bottom line is that there's a lot of music that sucks. That record labels convince 12 yr olds is cool, that peer pressure in university convinces 19 yr olds is cool, and that dumb-ass music award shows convince forty somethings is "hip". My simple rule is that as far as music is concerned, it should be played with instruments...not synthesizers or mixers. There should be musicians....people who play instruments and don't necessarily dance. The music should have some sort of melody...and not just be a bunch of different notes and chords jammed together because it's hard to do. And unless you're the lead singer of a band, where band members actually have some talent, don't consider yourself a vocalist if you can't really sing. And shouting out "rhymes" while waving your hands around....uhh....not singing....not music.

I can score a 99% on Rockband on easy or medium....but I am not a singer or a musician. But if Sony Records wants to sign me, I'm game.

Laugh Before Bed

If you want to some more opinion on the upcoming election, that's more detailed and more biting, check out my brother's blog.

However, for another laugh before bed...from last night's Saturday Night Live.

You Know It's Bad When...

I have no love lost for Karl Rove, the architect of the modern American election campaign, where bullshit, lies, and groin kicks are more important than little things like the issues. That's why I was shocked when CNN reported today that even Rove thinks McCain's campaign has gone too far with the lies and mistruths in their ads. Amazing when the stench of bullshit prompts the bullshit master to make a comment.

Hopefully, the Big Lie technique will remain a relic of the past and die a quick death in modern election campaigns. Enough is enough.

Thar She Blows - Part 2

The upcoming American election is sadly more interesting than the Canadian one...and for all the wrong reasons. The Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has taken the old Bush strategy of misleading the public one step further by flat-out lying. Lying about their own records, lying about Barack Obama's and lying about pretty well everything they can lie about.

You can't just make shit up!

I repeat, you can't just make shit up!

Up to this point, the media has been pretty lax in holding them accountable, but Paul Krugman of the New York Times had a pretty good op-ed piece out today. According to the GOP ticket, not only did Sarah Palin not support the Bridge to Nowhere (bullshit), and not only did she not go after earmarks (bullshit), but Obama supports giving sex-ed to kids (bullshit) and plans on increasing taxes to 95% of Americans (also bullshit). The recurring theme of bullshit stinks. And what's worse is that Republican strategists think this is a good way to run a campaign...and what's even worse than that is that some Americans are actually falling for this.

How can two candidates running for the most powerful office in the free world be allowed to get away with this? How can their supporters tolerate this insult to their intelligence? Considering the utter failure of the Bush regime in nearly every area from the economy to foreign relations, it is unbelievable that a Republican ticket that is this out of touch with reality is even in the game. I sincerely hope and pray that the American people are not this easily manipulated and make the right decision. At this point, conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, whites and blacks, men and women, and rich and poor need to get past these stupid labels and in a collective voice, tell the GOP to stop making shit up.

Thar She Blows!

The big news today, of course, is the impending landfall of Hurricane Ike. We're in the midst of the busy hurricane season and we've probably got a few more to go before it's all over. From where I'm sitting, in a nice dry living room in Eastern Canada, it looks like the poor folks in Texas are going to be in for one hell of a night.

What I can't understand are those people who insist on staying put, knowing full well that if they're lucky, only their homes will be lost and not their lives. Having survived Hurricane Juan several years ago...and considering that was only a Category 1 storm and our lives were not in real danger, I can't even imagine sticking it out through one of these. I guess people who live along the Gulf Coast are more accustomized to this sort of thing, but I still wouldn't test Mother Nature. Godspeed.

Hate to State the Obvious

I know, I know. I'm a bad blogger. I get excited for a day or two...sometimes only for the odd hour, and then you don't hear from me for a month. Not that I have a huge audience to begin with, but my brother claims that keeping your blog up to date is one way to attract readers.

I've had a few things on my mind, so I won't waste anymore time and will get to it!