What to do, what to do...

Well, the economy is heading south, and we are running out of ways to deal with it. But I'll tell you what that is.

First off, consumer spending is in the ditch. It looks really bad, and the holidays will make it look worse. We won't spend our way out of this one:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/opinion/31krugman.html?em

Another good stimulant, even better than caffeine, is cutting interest rates. But interest rates just got cut to 1%, so they can't go much lower.

What's left? Government spending. Whether we like it or not, we need more deficit spending in the short term in order to get things moving. We need to go up from the paltry numbers Obama and McCain have used so far. We need the government to spend Defense Department type money, $400Billion or more, next year, on renewable energy and infrastructure projects.

This seemed like a no-brainer to me before, a win-win, moving our economy into the 21st century and stimulating it in the short term. But now it's absolutely essential. Both candidates have to spend more than they are already planning on spending, which means a $1 trillion dollar increase in our debt, in one year. That is a 10% jump in total debt. In one year.

May you live in interesting times!

Take-off on the old Bud commercials

Very funny

Daughter of a slave votes for Obama

Really, the title says it all:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/27/1027jones.html

Grandma is a blogger

Not my grandma, but somebody's is. I try not to curse too much in my posts, but I'm glad Grandma has no shame.

I will stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops calling Obama a terrorist sympathizer. And I will stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops calling the parts of the country where I don’t live more Pro-American than the part of the country where I do live. And I will definitely stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops acting like a bitch.

I love America!

Those lovable Argentines

Those guys just never really met a bad decision they didn't like. Now they're putting Maradona, a coke addict, in as head of their national team.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75898e48-a5b4-11dd-9d26-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Such scamps.

Effigies

What is going on with all the effigies? Palin was seen hanging from a house in California. And now this, from the great state of Kentucky.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081029/NEWS01/81029016

End of the reign of the Boomers

Of all the great things about an Obama candidacy and possibly presidency, one that has been greatly overlooked, in my opinion, is how important he his in terms of moving us away from being a country ruled by the Baby Boomers.

Let's face it, the Boomers have been an absolute scourge of locusts on this country. Our grandparents lived through the Great Depression and won World Wars. Our parents smoked dope, forgot their 60's radicalism and got greedy in the 80's and 90's, and have kept us bogged down in a "culture war" for 40 years now, since the end of Vietnam.

We are all quite sick of it, and we are desperately in need of a change in leadership that can only come about with a demographic shift. That brings us to the millenials.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/goodbye-to-al-1.html

They supposedly outnumber the Boomers by about 20 million, so by 2016, when they can all vote, they should be a formidable force. However, it begs the question, will they be any better? So far, millenials have been called out as being just as self absorbed as their parents, if not more so, and more coddled to boot. It could be a toxic combo, but they have grown up in a more integrated society, and tend towards more progressive notions, even among the conservative millenials.

So there is hope. Just for fun, here's an old Paul Begala piece on why the Boomers suck so bad. The first paragraph should draw you in:

I hate the Baby Boomers. They're the most self-centered, self-seeking, self-interested, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing generation in American history. As they enter late middle age, the Boomers still can't grow up. Guys who once dropped acid are now downing Viagra; women who once eschewed lipstick are now getting liposuction.

Barkley for Governor

Oh hell yes! Yet another reason to love America!

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/10/28/charles-barkley-for-alabama-governor-in-2014/

McCain's chances

This little analysis puts the race in perspective:

If McCain doesn't win Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes, he would have to run the table and win all eight of the competitive states that were held by President Bush in 2004, including Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri, Indiana, North Carolina, and Nevada.

That's a pretty tough road, isn't it?

Assasination plot on Obama

I'm not worried, I trust the Secret Service, but this stuff is scary. Tennessee has skinheads?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102701823.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

Senator Stevens is guilty

But you knew that already. Here's the funny part:

Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel him on a two-thirds vote.

I love America!

Kobe is a Guitar Hero?

This is sweet