The U.S. is hitting a wall

We have finally done it, finally found the limits of our own abilities, and we are standing on the cliff. We cannot fight two wars, a financial crisis, energy problems, and rising health care costs all at once. We are going to have to choose, and this next election is about this: Which candidate is going to step off the cliff, and which one will walk slowly away from the precipice?

McCain/Palin want more war, particularly with Iran, with no good strategy about how to win/get out of the two wars we are currently in. They will be spending every US dollar they get in taxes on war and bailing out Wall Street.

Obama may be screwed, in the sense that his energy and health care initiatives are likely to go nowhere for 2 years at best. But, he clearly is more pragmatic, less likely to make rash decisions, and more willing to confront the reality of the times we live in. Quote of the day from Andrew Sullivan:

We have less to fear from reality than from denial of that reality.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/500-dollar-oil.html

where is this guy from?

The NRA is worried about Barack Obama, wait for it, stealing your guns! What a surprise! I mean, it's not like they haven't said this about every Democratic politician for my entire life, right? This guy is new and more dangerous, and just where is this guy from anyway? That last line is a direct quote in the ad.

http://gawker.com/5053171/nra-ad-shoot-obama-before-he-steals-your-guns?autoplay=true

They should have just said, "what is this guy, some kind of crazy Muslim?"

Senate doing its job

Looks like Dodd's counter-proposal to the Paulson bailout seems to have some smart additions in terms of oversight, getting equity in return for buying the bad loans, and the politically popular but largely meaningless idea of limiting executive compensation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080922/ts_nm/financial_bailout_congress_dc

Let's now wait to hear the Bushies howl about how Democrats are delaying and putting the future of the world at risk. How come we can't just talk about this for 4 hours or so, what the hell is the rush to spend $700 billion when Bush and others have been saying for months that things were under control!

Stupid idiots, trying to play brinkmanship politics with this, just like they did with Iraq. Look out for the mushroom cloud on Wall Street if the Democrats don't do exactly what we say!

Are Democrats going to be that stupid twice? I'm afraid I know the answer.

Right and Left

Quiz question: When was the last time Paul Krugman and William Kristol agreed on anything?

Answer: The both hate the Paulson/Bernanke bail-out bill.

This could be a dramatic week in Washington.

Kristol: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/opinion/22kristol.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Krugman: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/opinion/22krugman.html?hp

Michael Moore's new movie

Michael Moore has a new movie called Slacker Uprising. Don't know if it's any good or not, but you can watch it online for free in a variety of ways.

From Moore's email announcement:

"Slacker Uprising" chronicles the 62-city tour I did leading up to the 2004 election. It is electrifying to see the tens of thousands of young people who were ready then for the uprising -- and who, this year, are actually making it happen. This is my concert film tribute to the young voters who are going to save this country from four more years of Republican rule.

There are a number of ways, beginning at midnight tonight, that you can download or stream "Slacker Uprising" thanks to our distributor, Brave New Films:

1) Blip.tv will provide standard resolution streaming, free of commercials and advertising.
2) Amazon Video on Demand will provide a high quality version of the above stream.
3) iTunes will make it easy for you to download "Slacker Uprising" on your iTunes, iPod, or Apple TV, and view it there or transmit it to your television. This way, the film can be portable as well as for home viewing.
4) Hypernia is providing bandwidth, servers and management to host "Slacker Uprising" online, so you can download the film and view it at any time or burn it onto a DVD.

wackjob Christians

I grew up in a Southern Baptist church. I know all about Christian wackiness (as opposed to the vast majority of Christians who are reasonable folks).

This guy is a wackjob, and I normally wouldn't care, but he's trying to get Duke to change their mascot name. Apparently using the word "Devil" is offensive to him.

Can't we get these folks a job picking up trash off the highway, or something like that? Give them a project more useful than what they're working on now.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=111002&catid=57#comments