The Red Pill Society
How Deep is the Rabbit Hole?

Bill O’Reilly does it again. None of you would ever think I could agree with him on very many issues. I’m sure there are a few but not many. Bill’s latest tirade is against the rap singer Eminem for his latest song that parodies, among other celebrities, Governor Sarah Palin. Eminem depicts Sarah Palin in a sexual context in his video (by the way I find Sarah Palin sexy too, so long as she’s not trying to talk to me about politics). Bill doesn’t cover up the fact that he deplores Eminem, Rap music and the audience it attracts. His disdain for all of them is obvious. He does go on to bitch and moan that the “Big Media” hasn’t taken Eminem to task about his “attack on Sarah Palin.” I’m betting Bill needed some ratings so he lambastes a popular artist so HE can get some more free press. Bill O’Reilly is a performer after all.  

Bill, I hope you actually watched the entire video before you spewed your agenda riddled diatribe. Not that I actually think you would ever find my little blog, or even care about it, but just in case you haven’t actually seen the entirety of Eminems video I added it here for your viewing pleasure. 

Now as you can see Eminem makes fun of ALOT of people in the video and Sarah Palin takes up maybe 20-30 seconds of the 4 minute 40 second video. Jessica Simpson, Amy Whinehouse, Kim Kardashian, Star Trek and some people I don’t recognize (I’m so uncool…). While I don’t particularly like the song or the video I can see it’s obvious attempt to parody society’s placing of certain things/people etc on a pedestal. We as a society tend to elevate people to a stature that can be comical at times. His song and video depict this. He uses his platform to send his message to his audience. Just like Bill O’Reilly uses his platform to send his message to his audience. By the way, I agree with Eminem COMPLETELY. His message is true and on target, but I will save my op-ed piece about societies woes for a later article. 

By the way here is the segment from Bill O’Reilly about Eminem and the “liberal media.”

Bill, why don’t you have any patience or acceptance for views that differ from yours? Maybe that’s because you think you’re always right and everyone should think like you. There’s a name for people like that Bill, but I’m sure you know that already. Bill, why aren’t you just as enraged that Eminem made fun of the other women in the video? Maybe it’s because they aren’t the little darlings of the right wing. Bill, why do you feel the need to belittle someone for the kind of music they like and listen to? Maybe it’s because you can be a self righteous, elitist most times. Bill, do you consider yourself a journalist? I don’t. I think you’re right wing loud mouth with a TV show. Before you get your red frilly panties in a knot Bill, I know you’re not the only one. It’s done on the left also. Journalism has changed and now we’re inundated with opinions, personal agendas etc from our tv personalities. Yes I find it hard to call what you, and others do, journalism. But them again here I am giving my opinion and the only difference is I’m not getting paid huge amounts of money to do it. Anyone hiring?

That may be stretching the truth a little… ok, ALOT.

If you haven’t heard, “Joe the Plumber,” aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, had a book signing gig in Washington D.C. over the weekend. The short story is it was a complete and utter flop. His book titled “Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream,” was supposed to be his big hit, his payday… I guess. But as it turns out it was just another poor attempt by an attention whore to make money off the public. In all fairness he’s just trying to ride out the wave created for him by John McCain. You remember John don’t you? He’s the guy who paraded Wurzelbacher around with him during the Presidential campaign. He did this along side his other ‘gimmick,’ Sarah Palin.

I’m torn as to what to call this guy. His name is Sam Wurzelbacher. He picked up his new nickname “Joe the Plumber” during a contentious presidential race where he was used – poorly I might add – by John McCain in his sad attempt at becoming the next leader of the free world. Personally I’m glad John McCain Lost. I mean if he thought these gimmicks (Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin) were the best he had to offer, then it’s a damn good thing he’s back in his old job. But I digress.

The Republican party is really lost at the moment. They’re floundering badly. John McCain had a shot at the election when he was selling us his experience over Barack Obama. His long service to this country. He lost it when he went with Palin and Joe the Plumber. Ever since then it was not only over for him but for the Grand ‘ol Party. They can’t seem to figure out who the hell they are, what they’re about and who can be a respectable spokesperson for them. As a group they’re laughable right now. From Bobby Jindal’s speech after President Obama’s first address to the joint houses, to having Joe the Plumber as a featured speaker at CPAC the other night. OMG – REALLY!? If you want to be taken seriously guys stop parading these parodies of life in front of the world. Come on now. I know there are SOME smart, intellectual people in the GOP that can be a better representation of the party… there has to be!

Here is a quote from an article in the Huffington Post website from November 2008. The quote is Joe the Plumber answering some questions:

“Everyone came at me to write a book. They had dollar signs in their eyes. ’101 Things Joe the Plumber Knows’ or some stupid s— like that. Excuse me, I am sorry,” he said. “You know I will get behind something solid, but I won’t get behind fluff. I won’t cash in, and when people do read the book they will figure out that I didn’t cash in. At least I hope they figure that out.”
The book, called “Joe the Plumber — Fighting for the American Dream,” is to be released by a group called PearlGate Publishing and other small publishing houses.
“I am not going to a conglomerate that way we actually can get the economy jump started. Like there is five publishing companies in Michigan. There’s a couple down in Texas. They are small ones that can handle like 10 or 15,000 copies. I can go to a big one that could handle a million or two. But they don’t need the help. They are already rich. So that’s spreading the wealth to me,” he said.

I literally laughed when I read that as you no doubt are doing right now. He doesn’t want to sound like he’s “cashing in” yet he writes a book because “everyone” was telling him it was a good idea. Psst… they were wrong dude! Also, don’t fool yourself Sam, you didn’t go to a “conglomerate” publishing house because they knew it would be a complete failure and probably wanted no part of the ‘deal.’ Apparently your decision make process needs as much work as John McCain’s.

Here’s a video clip of Keith Olberman’s response to Joe the Plumber’s appearance at CPAC. Gotta love Keith…

Hey Joe the Plumber/Sam Wurzelbacher – Go Away! Go back to what you were doing BEFORE this new persona Joe the Plumber was created for political gain. You were a fictitious character that was used as a pawn in the biggest and most manipulative industry in the world… POLITICS. Oh, and did you really say you would consider running for President in “6 years?” Here’s a free tip… the next Presidential election is in 4 years. Seriously Sam, stop and regain some dignity will ya? Don’t go writing books about your 15 minutes. No one cares, really.

For a lot of people I’m sure this story pulls their heart strings and gains pity for a mother of 6 who gets pregnant with and gives birth to octuplets. For those who aren’t to familiar with the story allow me to enlighten you of some facts you may not be aware of. For example did you know “before the 33-year-old single, unemployed mother gave birth to octuplets last month, she had been caring for her six other children with the help of $490 a month in food stamps, plus Social Security disability payments for three of the youngsters. The public aid will almost certainly be increased with the new additions to her family.” These new 8 children were conceived via VITRO TREATMENTS. That means she purposely went to have more kids when she can’t even afford the 6 she already had.

There are also other points raised about her desire to emulate Angelina Jolie. So much so that she has undergone plastic surgery to LOOK more like her. Reminds me of Michael Jackson’s abtuse desire to look like Diana Ross. For the record Nadya says she’s never had plastic surgery and Angelina Jolie has no part in her decision to have more kids.

Here are some photos of Nadya from an article from The Huffington Post.

before the octuplets and a side by side of her and Angelina Jolie.

Now, my personal opinion about this whole thing, in case it’s not obvious enough to you yet, is that she is a completely unfit person to be a mother of one let alone fourteen! Mark my words, this woman has some kind of mental health issues. It’s disgusting what she’s doing AND getting away with. She even has a website where she asks for money!!! Holy cow she has some really big balls doesn’t she? No, I’m not putting the link to it here. She doesn’t deserve a penny from anyone. She needs a psychiatrist, not government help to pay for her misguided life choices. A person who has plastic surgery to LOOK like a famous person is goofy enough, but when you add in the fact that she’s now responsible for 14 children AND she’s broke, unemployed AND unemployable, you have a certifiable nut case. What needs to happen is California needs to take away ALL of her kids and put them up for adoption.

Nadya – I call BULLS*T my dear. You need to seek help, get a job and a life. I’ll give you some credit though. You made it to prime time, albiet as a pathetic, wannabe, selfish, scammer. Good luck with that.

I friend of mine from Cuba was telling me a story once and the story was about how he got so mad at someone for what they had done. He said it gave him “the red ass” he was so pissed. Well, this story has done just that for me.

A high school girls basketball coach was fired because his team beat another team 100-0. Did you get that? FIRED! You know why too… I don’t have to tell you, but I will. Because some pansy asses felt he was ‘running up the score’ and it’s not fair to the other team to lose like that. Here’s an excerpt from the article and a  link to the complete article for you to chew over when you have the time.

DALLAS — The coach of a Texas high school basketball team that beat another team 100-0 was fired Sunday, the same day he sent an e-mail to a newspaper saying he will not apologize “for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity.”

Kyle Queal, the headmaster for Covenant School, said in The Dallas Morning News online edition that he could not answer if the firing was a direct result of coach Micah Grimes‘ e-mail disagreeing with administrators who called the blowout “shameful.”

Queal did not immediately answer phone messages or e-mail from The Associated Press.

On its Web site last week, Covenant, a private Christian school, posted a statement regretting the outcome of its Jan. 13 shutout win over Dallas Academy. “It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened. This clearly does not reflect a Christlike and honorable approach to competition,” said the statement, signed by Queal and board chair Todd Doshier.

Grimes, who has been criticized for letting the game get so far out of hand, made it clear in the e-mail Sunday to the newspaper that he does not agree with his school’s assessment.

“In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Web site, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed,” Grimes wrote in the e-mail, according to the newspaper. “We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity.”

Unapologetic coach of 100-0 win fired by school

If were not careful, and we follow the lead of all this over the top political correctness, we run the risk becoming a nation of lame ass, whiny people. Listen up people. If you lose you LOSE! If the other team is that much better than you (or you suck so bad) that you lose by that much, then so be it. Holy crap! The man gets fired because his team beat the pants off the other team? What in the hell are we teaching our youth with such an attitude? Is it fair to do what he did? Hell yes it is. He let his girls play their hearts out and they did just that. Why should they have toned down their play? Really, I dare you to give me a good reason. You can’t and you know it. Any argument for that garbage attitude just shows the dumbing down of our society. Well, not exactly but you get my point. They played with respect and didn’t taunt the other team. They didn’t play with poor sportsmanship, yet some would have them stop playing their best just to take care not to hurt the feelings of the other team. Who knows what the other team felt? I have always been an athletic person and was very competitive. When I played or competed with others I expected them to ALWAYS bring their A-Game no matter what. If they “played down” to me I wasn’t getting the truth out of them, myself or the competition.

What are we teaching our kids about the real world when we do things like this. Kids need to learn teh world doesn’t care if they “tried” or they “did their best.” The world will crush those people who are used to being handled with kid gloves their whole life. The world isn’t always “fair” and really what is fair anyway? We need to let little Johnny fall, scrape his knee, cry, get hurt and grow from it – learn from it. We can’t protect kids from everything and we certainly do them a dis-service by molly-coddling them. We can’t insulate them from the world. Everyone has to live in it and interact with ALL aspects of life.

… ok, sorry for the rant. Just had to get that off my chest.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are now on the brink of bankruptcy. I’ve even heard the alarm bell ring of a possible need to close door all together for one of them. The heads of each company went to Washington to ask for a “bailout” package so they can pay their bills for the next few months. There is obviously a lot of disagreement on capital hill regarding how to proceed with the big three. Do we bail them out? If so, how do you construct the package and requirements? What kind of oversight will there be? When do we get paid back and how?

This can potentially be a big problem. Not the bailout, but what happens if they’re NOT bailed out. The obvious implications range from direct affect of the employees who were not the orchestrators of the bad company business plan, and further down the road to suppliers of the automakers who can’t sell their widgets and beyond. There is certainly a lot of blame to go around. It’s easy to point the finger at the high level executives who mismanaged the company so badly that it’s all about to crumble into ashes. Those same executives who flew to Washington to ask for billions in bailout money, all flew on private jets to the tune of $20,000 per person! Listen. I know people out there can afford that kind of luxury and I applaud them for it. But if you’re flying somewhere to beg for money because you screwed up your company, and you fly on a private plane at the cost of $20K a head, you have some pretty damn big balls! I bet those are company jets. If they were personal jets it’s one thing, but I doubt it.

The executives aren’t the only people to blame for this mess though. Take a good look at the UAW. The United Auto Workers Union. Here you have a group that looks out for the employees and makes sure they get the most they can out of the employer. Unions in the past did a very good job of forcing employers to change bad working condition, pay them properly, give them health benefits etc. The problem now is that they continually try to suck the company dry. They do this while the executives try to set things to their benefit. It’s a major tug of war with both sides playing hardball. The unions have a very strong lobby. They’re very influential when it comes time to vote.

Here’s the problem as I see it. They both need each other to have a successful, viable company. They both need to work together so they ALL have jobs tomorrow. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that is the main underlying problem with the auto industry in this country. They need to start viewing their relationship as partners and not adversarial. I heard yesterday on the news a UAW representative said something to the affect “We’re willing to acquiesce a little to help things along.”  I wanted to reach through the screen and slap this guy in the head. I have news for the UAW… YOU HAVE NO CHOICE! you are not in the position now to be willing to acquiesce “a little” for the greater good. If you want a job tomorrow you HAVE TO make changes and give back some. American Airlines did it and stayed out of bankruptcy and didn’t go running to uncle Sam for a loan. All the Pilots, Flight Attendants and ground crew unions went to their people and they all took cuts in pay, worked longer hours etc. They changed their business model and now they’re operating without taxpayers help. They are far from being free and clear of troubles, but they’re handling it themselves… ALL of them.

The mind set needs to change in the auto industry as it does in society in general. In general we have this me first, at all cost attitude and that’s going be our downfall if things don’t change and change fast. Look at things in a global perspective. Our economy starts to dive and the world economy follows. Before you start thinking we’re the lynch pin for the world, forget it. Get over yourself. We are part of something much larger than just ourselves and when we all start to realize that and work with that in mind we can truly start to grow and advance in a reasonable, safe and solid way. So far we were building a beautiful house on a substandard foundation. The form over function theory never works.

After readiing and hearing a lot on this latest economic crisis and thinking about it, I’ve come to the conclusion that we should NOT bail out GM, Ford and Chrysler. I know there are workers who will be directly affected and lose jobs. Some are only qualified to do those jobs they lose. I know. But giving the big 3 money doesn’t fix the problem. We all learn from our failures. Isn’t that why we don’t fix everything for our children? Don’t we let them fall and get themselves back up on their own at some point? These are adults we’re talking about. There’s a lesson in each tough time we face. We grow through our tribulations. Times have changed and the mentality of society needs to change along with it. Bankruptcy isn’t the end of business. It’s just a restructuring of business. Maybe that’s exactly what they need because obviously what they were doing all along hasn’t been working lately.

What do you think? Should we bailout GM, Ford and Chrysler?

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I’ve been itching to write about the Vice Presidential debate that aired on October 2, 2008. I wanted to jump on and start writing when it was over but I though it better to wait and mull it over for a few days. Why? Because my initial reaction would have been harsh and probably wouldn’t have put forward a very balanced review. I tried guys, really I did. But this won’t come across as a balanced review any way. Luckily this isn’t Fox News. It’s The Red Pill Society. We welcome and present all viewpoints equally and fairly. This just happens to be mine and you’re free to give me yours.

Let’s start with Sarah Palin. I have to say she did so much better this time around than she has done in the last couple of public interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric. Of course the bar was so low that so long as she didn’t faint up there she would have done better. But Thursday night she sounded more comfortable with the situation and ready to answer questions…. sort of anyway. She was still reading from prepared speeches, all night long. Let’s forget all the Republican spin jobs about Sarah Palin. She is remarkably and undeniably unprepared for the job of Vice President. I know this may sound like more of a personal attack on the woman but it’s not meant that way. She is awful! Pathetic! Really people, wake up! “I may not answer the question the way you want, but I’m going to talk directly to the American people and tell them about my qualifications…. smile… wink…” Really? I mean REALLY?! That’s her answer. I’ll hand it to her. At least she had the balls to tell everyone straight out that she doesn’t have a direct answer to the questions so instead she’s going to just ramble about something else and give us her resume. When she said that I literally dropped and shook my head. I couldn’t believe she said that out loud.

I don’t know about you guys but quite frankly I’m so tired of all the small little quips, grins, winks, got’cha’s, wit’cha’s and shout out’s to a 3rd grade class. Yeah, that all screams Vice President to me. And if I hear her say “we’re the mavericks” one more time I’m going to throw my 6-pack at my TV.  Look haven’t we had enough of the country bumkin persona for the last 8 years? Hasn’t watching George W. Bush, a man would probably invented beer pong, with his head bob, crooked smile, winks, leaning on the podium and bastardization of the English language embarrassed you enough yet? I’m sorry folks. I don’t want another “chum” in the white house… even if it is for vice president. I don’t want someone who has a “first dude” in the house. That kind of folksie crap works well for the small town, community feel. Hell, I live in a small town and I know the mayor and the people on the city council personally. I get it on that level. But for the job of VP, you better have a hell of a lot more bullets in the chamber than just ‘saying’ you appeal to the average Joe. You better appeal to heads of nations and other international figures. You better come across knowledgeable about foreign affairs, economic trends, social implications, historical events, supreme court rulings and know more than how to gut a moose (do people gut moose?). In her defense I don’t particularly care if she remembered what she read on a daily basis. We all mis-speak at times or even forget things when put on the spot. I do believe she has been over handled by the McCain camp. They’ve pumped her full of information and rehearsed her to the point she’s ready to bust. She has nothing to say about herself really so they’re using smoke and mirrors and redirection in hopes we can be duped like we were with George W. Bush. Most of all her answers are John McCain says, does, did, will do etc. Doesn’t she have anything of her own to say or do? Apparently not. Maybe she’ll be ready and back in the future to run for president. Maybe even against Hillary Clinton. Never mind, Hillary will bury her in her sleep. I’m looking at the big picture here and all I see is a plastic singing Bass mounted on the wall. 

Joe Biden – gotta love him. This is the man who perfected the saying “Open mouth, insert foot.” Not to mince words, EVER, he showed a huge amount of restraint Thursday night. So much so I thought he was flat in the first half of the debate. It just wasn’t Joe. That may have been a good thing though. He did pick up and showed a bit of who he really is after that. Not much but some. He did fall real flat with his snide attack about the “ultimate bridge to no where.” It’s readily apparent the people are growing tired of negative attacks. I know that was tame for him but he really needs to stay away from those childish tactics. He should leave those things to those who have nothing else to offer. It’s understandable coming from someone with no experience or knowledge, sad but it’s still understandable. He’s the elder statesman and he needs to act like it. Besides that comment I thought he handled himself perfectly. He walked that fine line with the grace of a Flying Wallenda. He completely destroyed her when it came to foreign policy. He knows so much and had all kinds of facts at the ready. He better know all that stuff though. He’s been in the Senate longer than John McCain. He was affable, knowledgeable and sincere. Joe Biden won that debate hands down. 

In the end we’re voting for the top of the ticket. We’re voting for Barack Obama or John McCain. They’re the ones who will lead us into the next decade. The VP choice isn’t a small choice though. Their choice in VP running mates shows what they were thinking. Who they want and need next to them to lead our country. It shows a certain judgement and character. Joe Biden as a choice shows to me that Barack wanted someone more experienced than himself. Someone who knows the country, it’s recent history, foreign leaders, economic issues and global trends. Sarah Palin as a choice shows to me that John wanted someone to satisfy his religious republican base. Someone who could potentially get the female vote that would have gone with Hillary Clinton. Someone who could give a spark to his failing campaign. Let’s see now… who was thinking “Country First” with that choice? Easy one… Barack Obama. Let’s not forget the other question. What happens if the unthinkable occurs and the president dies in office. Who do you REALLY think is ready to be President of the United States of America?

Just a quick thought. In one way I’m sorry there’s only going to be one VP debate. It should be very entertaining to say the least.

On one side you have Joe Biden, the democratic VP nominee.

Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and lived there for ten years prior to moving to Delaware. He became an attorney in 1969 and was elected to a county council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, and became the fifth-youngest senator in U.S. history. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002, and has served for the sixth-longest period among current senators.

Biden is a long-time member and current chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. His strong advocacy helped bring about U.S. military assistance and intervention during the Bosnian War. He initially supported the Iraq War, but later proposed resolutions to alter U.S. strategy there. He has served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties, and led creation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act. He chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.

Long time Senator. Knows foreign affairs like the back of his hand. Loads of experience in Washington. Has had tremendous exposure internationally. Has a tendency to speak his mind, even when it’s political suicide. He just doesn’t have the restraint some other politicians have when it comes to saying what he wants. I personally applaud him for it. And it’s fun to watch too. 

On the other side you have Sarah Palin, the republican VP nominee. 

Palin attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, located 29 miles (47 km) north of the city of Anchorage.^[9] She was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at the school and the point guard and captain of the school’s girls’ basketball team. She helped the team win the Alaska small-school basketball championship in 1982, hitting a critical free throw in the last seconds of the game, despite having an ankle stress fracture. She earned the nickname “Sarah Barracuda” because of her intense play.^[10]

Palin attended several colleges and universities. In 1982, she enrolled at Hawaii Pacific College but left after her first semester. She transferred toNorth Idaho community college, where she spent two semesters as a general studies major. From there, she transferred to the University of Idahofor two semesters.^[11][12] During this time Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant beauty contest,^[13][14] then finished third (second runner-up) in theMiss Alaska pageant,^[15][16] at which she won a college scholarship and the “Miss Congeniality” award.^[17] She then left the University of Idaho and attended Matanuska-Susitna community college in Alaska for one term. The next year she returned to the University of Idaho where she spent three semesters completing her Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, graduating in 1987.^[11][12]

Started her political career in 1992 on the city council. Was elected Mayor of Wasilla in 1996, Lieutenant Governor 2002, Governor 2006. Got the nicname “Sarah Barracuda” because of her intense play as point guard for her high schools girls basketball team. Won the Ms. Wasilla Beauty Pageant. 

Personally I think Joe Biden is unfairly going to be in a no win situation. First of all the bar is set so low for Sarah Palin. It’s of her own doing.  Because of the VERY few open interviews she’s done since being presented at the RNC and totally bombing in each of them. I think the country has gotten tired of her smart assed one liners. Those are cute but get old real fast especially when you keep repeating them. Let’s forget the VP should have some political knowledge and substance, which we have yet to see from her. She’s good at attacking, making cute little sound bites and easy on the eyes, but at the end of the day she still needs to prove she’s up for the second highest office in the country. I personally doubt it very much. Secondly Joe can’t go after her without people saying he’s sexist. He can’t push the issue that he’s more experienced than her because then he’s talking down to her. Total crap in my opinion. She has stepped into the big leagues and it’s time for her to take the shots for herself. Hold her own. People say she can. They say she has done it before when she won the Governor position in Alaska. Maybe she does have “it” in terms of toughness. Maybe it did show in Alaska. But she knew Alaska very well. So far she hasn’t shown she knows anything outside of Alaska and that can be a big problem when going up against Joe Biden. I don’t want to see the “Pitbull with Lipstick.” That’s NOT what we need representing our country. I want to see a person who can step into the Oval Office if needed and run our country like an intelligent, worldly person. 

What do you think?

Like so many Americans I was really looking forward to the first Presidential debate this past Friday September 26, 2008. I set the DVR to record in case I missed something. Of course I set it wrong and missed half the debate but that’s not my fault… really. Anyway, I’m watching Jim Lehrer speak and describe the set up for the evening. “I made up all the questions and no one has seen or heard them until tonight.” Great! Both Obama and McCain would have to answer blind questions. We get to see how they react, answer and deal with things when they can’t see it coming. No prepared answers, no TelePrompTers. I like that. Looks like it’s going to be a great political evening with the both candidates showing their true self. Now we’re going to see who has the mustard and who doesn’t. 

As the night moves along Jim Lehrer tells both candidates to address each other. He does this many times trying to get a dialog going between the two. In short Obama did and McCain did not. Barrack Obama tried to speak directly to John McCain on many occasions. McCain on the other hand never… NEVER once even looked at Brarack Obama. John McCain ALWAYS spoke about him as if he weren’t there. I’m not sure if that was a tactic that his handlers told him to adopt or not. I always had great respect for John McCain when he WAS a maverick in the senate and even lately after he sold out his “maverick” status to get the nomination. I watched John McCain say he was going to run a respectable campaign against Barrack Obama then watched as his commercials got more and more negative and stretched the truth far and wide. Yes Barrack Obama did the same thing but he didn’t ride in on his white horse like McCain did. Then he chooses Sarah Palin as his running mate simply to satisfy his religious base. If he were STILL the maverick, he would have chosen one of the two people he wanted to, Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge. But no. He sells out and goes for such an obvious political choice that even his republican friends were shaking their heads. I let all that go. It’s the way every presidential campaign has gone for a very long time. The McCain uses the economic crisis as a political tool. EVERYONE involved said they didn’t want that to happen. NO ONE wanted to insert presidential politics into the resolution process of the bail out discussions. No one except for John McCain. I guess his failing numbers in the polls changes his character. Then comes the debate and John McCain acts with such disdain and disrespect for Barrack Obama. It was pathetic. It was gross. It was shameful. He even looked like he was enjoying it. One time he actually turned his back toward Barrack to answer a question!

Listen up John McCain! As far as I’m concerned you have lost all credibility with your actions during this campaign. The debate Friday night was the absolute last straw. What ever you were thinking it would look like you were wrong! You looked like a child. You want to call Senator Obama an elitist and you act like the biggest snob on the planet! Mr McCain, you owe Barrack an apology. You owe your supporters an apology. You owe the American people an apology. Your actions and demeanor are not fitting of a man of your position. You should be better than that. I guess you’re not though are you? You keep spewing how you’re the one who can reach across the isle and work with everyone. Yet you can’t even look at the other man on the same stage as you? You are pathetic John McCain. You have shown how shallow you are and what depths you will go to to win this election. Very sad, especially coming from the John McCain I was voting for in 2000. Where did he go? Please tell us, where did THAT John McCain go?

Barrack Obama was poised, respectful, well spoken all evening. I think he did miss an opportunity that evening though. As John McCain dug a huge whole for himself by his disdainful ignoring of Barrack, Senator Obama should have said something like “John, you can ignore me here on stage, not look at me, speak like I’m not even here, BUT know one thing sir. I AM HERE and I’m not going anywhere.” That would have slammed the lid on McCain’s campaign coffin and nailed it shut. If I saw it I know Barrack saw it and probably wanted to say something. If he did and decided not to, maybe he thought he was taking the high road. Maybe he did. I can’t hold my tongue like that. Good thing I’m not running for president.

Our dependency on foreign oil for our energy needs is going to completely destroy this country. We are in the midst of the LARGEST transfer of wealth in history. We, the United States, are losing ourselves to other countries. We are dependent on countries like Saudi Arabia and the rest of the middle east including Iraq (you don’t still think we went there to get rid of the big ‘ol bag dictator do you?), Japan and China. The middle East is an easy part of the equation to see. But you may be asking why China? Well, who do you think is giving us all the money we need to live? They’re buy our treasuries (t-bills etc.). Here’s a quote from the Market Oracle:

These securities are either sold on the open market or directly to the Federal Reserve. The U.S. public debt, as of July 17, 2007 stood at $8.887 trillion. In addition to the national debt, the State and Local debt at the end of 2006 stood at just over $2 trillion.

Some consider that all government liabilities, including those that the government has contracted for but not yet paid, should also be included in the national debt . Corporations must report such liabilities in their annual financial statements under GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

These “off-balance sheet” items include future payments for federal pensions, Medicare and Social Security. Inclusion of these obligations would dramatically increase the U.S. national debt to $59.1 trillion or 403% of GDP! On a per capita basis this amounts to $516,348 for every U.S. household! By means of comparison, the average American household owes $112,043 for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and all other debt combined.

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Last night was the 2 final primaries for the Democratic party nominee for president of the United States of America. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton split the two states, Montana for Barack Obama and South Dakota for Hillary Clinton. Now the democratic primary season is over, finally, and Barack Obama is the presumtive nominee of the democratic party. After the consensus formed around the fact that Barack Obama finally put it away, all three politicians gave speeches. That is the basics of what went on in the last 24 hours. Now, if you think the drama is over for the democrats you have another think coming. 

Barack Obama’s speech was one of the best speeches I’ve heard in a very long time. He accepted his winning of the required number of delegates and becoming the presumtive democratic nominee. He also spent a fair amount of time honoring and extolling the great impact Hillary Clinton has had on the american people, the democratic party and the election process. Praising her for her strength, intelligence and tenacity. Of course he also spent time on the offensive towards John McCain. Barack Obama’s speech was a positive and uplifting speech that worked hard to show what we have in common as a nation and as a people. He sounded like a unifying voice. A voice that was speaking for the American people. His was a speech that elicited a sense of national pride. Listening to him last night I felt proud to be an American. His speech raised within people a feeling of pride that we have someone who is truly speaking for us and will honor the values of the american people and the nation. A feeling we all have been missing for the last eight years. One that believes that everyone around the world can benefit from the United States being a respected country once again. Respected for it’s virtue, honesty and strength and not just because of our military might. 

Hillary Clinton’s speech on the other hand was none of the above. Yes, she did acknowledge Barack Obama reaching the required number of delegates. But the lion’s share of her speech was political posturing. She was still promoting her resume. She was still saying how she’s the better candidate. She was still saying she received more popular votes. She was still saying how she won the swing states and how no person could win the presidency without those states. In short she was trying to leverage herself and turn the screws on Barack Obama to force him to ask her to be his VP running mate. I found it to be very unprofessional of her to speak like that last night. She had a great opportunity to start to reunite the democratic party. Instead she chose to continue to fight. Too bad for her she’s only shadow boxing right now because she’s the only one in the room. She made herself look bad last night and actually helped to show that Barack Obama is in fact the correct choice. (more…)