r/t @quantumparticle I need a smoke after listening to AssHat3 and AssHat4 for the past 90 minutes. ugh #vpdebate
Orignal From: r/t @quantumparticle I need a ...
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Thursday, October 02, 2008
@SisterSafetyPin yeah, me too-...
@SisterSafetyPin yeah, me too--I was worried the format would suck, but it was a blast. The whole thing flew by.
Orignal From: @SisterSafetyPin yeah, me too-...
Orignal From: @SisterSafetyPin yeah, me too-...
#VPDebate UGH! More talk of th...
#VPDebate UGH! More talk of the economy! BORING! Let's talk about something IMPORTANT like Palin's MOOSE.
Orignal From: #VPDebate UGH! More talk of th...
Orignal From: #VPDebate UGH! More talk of th...
Vice Presidential Debate Pre-game Commentary from ThePete #debate08
OK, so in just under three hours, the VP debates will begin. I'll be liveTweeting the event and you can follow along on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thepete
...Or on my blog by keeping an eye on that TheLifestream.
But regarding tonight's debate, I have mixed feelings.
On the one hand, it's going to be a wonderful train wreck to watch. Joe Biden, king of foot-in-mouth syndrome will have to fight nice with Sarah Palin, the queen of sentence-mashups. It's going to be a wonderful blood-bath whether Palin comes off like a moron (yay!) or Biden looks like a crotchety old man beating up on a little girl (boo!).
So, from a strictly observational standpoint, I'm excited.
However, there's also a part of me that feels like the process is being damaged thanks to each campaign understanding their VP candi's weaknesses. I heard this morning that each one will have just 90 seconds to answer questions and 2 minutes to rebut. This will give them fewer chances to screw up just because it won't let them talk very long. The thing is, We The People should want them to talk longer than 3.5 minutes for each question! We need to get to know these people better. If they're going to screw up, we want to know about it. If they're going to be cut off before they can, we'll never know they're morons until after they've been elected.
An informed electorate is a strong electorate, right?
I guess both parties want us to be weak.
Then there's the part of me that is worried that the worst will happen. Huge damage can be done to the process by both of these candidates performing poorly. Sure, we'll be watching and laughing at the stupidity we're witnessing, but really, that's not why we should be enjoying ourselves or even tuning in.
Imagine, if Obama had picked Hillary. Oh, that would have made me feel much better about tonight.
If things go as badly as they could, Palin would lose a lot of people, but Biden could lose more. We know Biden is a smart guy and by his advanced age, it's easy to assume he should know better than to gang up on this little girl from Alaska (let's be honest, that's exactly what she is).
Remember, I'm an independent. I'd prefer neither McCain nor Obama win. But there's no practical expectation I can have to see a third party candidate even appear in the debates, let alone end up winning the White House, so for people like me, this all becomes a question of who to vote against.
Yay, democracy.
By the way, the reason we'll never see a third party candidate in the debates is because the debates are controlled by the two major parties.
Yay, democ--oh, I said that already...
Orignal From: Vice Presidential Debate Pre-game Commentary from ThePete #debate08
...Or on my blog by keeping an eye on that TheLifestream.
But regarding tonight's debate, I have mixed feelings.
On the one hand, it's going to be a wonderful train wreck to watch. Joe Biden, king of foot-in-mouth syndrome will have to fight nice with Sarah Palin, the queen of sentence-mashups. It's going to be a wonderful blood-bath whether Palin comes off like a moron (yay!) or Biden looks like a crotchety old man beating up on a little girl (boo!).
So, from a strictly observational standpoint, I'm excited.
However, there's also a part of me that feels like the process is being damaged thanks to each campaign understanding their VP candi's weaknesses. I heard this morning that each one will have just 90 seconds to answer questions and 2 minutes to rebut. This will give them fewer chances to screw up just because it won't let them talk very long. The thing is, We The People should want them to talk longer than 3.5 minutes for each question! We need to get to know these people better. If they're going to screw up, we want to know about it. If they're going to be cut off before they can, we'll never know they're morons until after they've been elected.
An informed electorate is a strong electorate, right?
I guess both parties want us to be weak.
Then there's the part of me that is worried that the worst will happen. Huge damage can be done to the process by both of these candidates performing poorly. Sure, we'll be watching and laughing at the stupidity we're witnessing, but really, that's not why we should be enjoying ourselves or even tuning in.
Imagine, if Obama had picked Hillary. Oh, that would have made me feel much better about tonight.
If things go as badly as they could, Palin would lose a lot of people, but Biden could lose more. We know Biden is a smart guy and by his advanced age, it's easy to assume he should know better than to gang up on this little girl from Alaska (let's be honest, that's exactly what she is).
Remember, I'm an independent. I'd prefer neither McCain nor Obama win. But there's no practical expectation I can have to see a third party candidate even appear in the debates, let alone end up winning the White House, so for people like me, this all becomes a question of who to vote against.
Yay, democracy.
By the way, the reason we'll never see a third party candidate in the debates is because the debates are controlled by the two major parties.
Yay, democ--oh, I said that already...
Orignal From: Vice Presidential Debate Pre-game Commentary from ThePete #debate08
ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #9 Apple
ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #9 Apple on 12seconds.tv
The hiragana for this lesson is:
りいんご
The romaji is:
ri i n go (reeng go)
The only note I have here is that the "n" sound here is the "ん" which is more of an "ng" sound, than an English "N" sound.
Orignal From: ThePete's 12 Second Japanese Lesson #9 Apple
USG Passes the Bailout Bill After All
You knew they were going to do it.
If you read this blog you know I knew they were going to do it.
Forget that the Federal Reserve already sunk $630 billion into our economy. I was shocked when I saw a Twitter post from thePuck Tuesday that the Fed had decided to move on its own. Earlier in the day, I saw another socnetizen in my circle microblog something like "what difference does $70 billion make? Apparently a lot."
He was referring to the $70 billion less the Fed was borrowing from other central banks.
While I was shocked, it wasn't shocked because the Fed went ahead and did it. I was shocked because the Federal Reserve is usually pretty low key. They speak in riddles and hide in the shadows. Don't believe me? Check out FederalReserveEducation.org and see how long it takes for your ADD to kick in. These guys do not want us to know what they're up to, or else we already would.
So, the idea that these guys would make a move like this and draw all sorts of attention to them, is very surprising. Why should they not want to draw attention to themselves?
Simple, they're the real power in our country. But I'm digressing. This post is about the USG passing a bailout bill anyway.
This is what baffles me. How can the media not cover this in any serious way? Did a single person on TV or in print ask the question of anyone in congress: "WHY do we need the bailout now??"
Yet, yesterday, a bailout bill passed the Senate.
The good news is that now the House needs to vote on it. Hopefully, they will say no.
The idea of bailing the water out of the sinking ship that is the American economy pisses me off.
A bailout is stealing money from our future pockets and putting it in the hands of the rich. Hell, it's stealing from our pockets now, too. All that money ($630 + $700 billion= $1.33 TRILLION) will drive the value of the dollar straight down. Of course, if you're disgustingly rich, you'll hardly feel it.
That's what this ultimately comes down to. The fucking rich and their rich pals in government.
This is no democracy. Its a corporatocracy. It's the feudal system all over again.
We all work for corporations/feuds that kiss the ass of the king/George. The king/George keeps the military working for the good of the corporations/feuds keep the peasants (us) in line.
Man, it sounds so extreme, but with the shrinking middle class and the ever-present corporation, I feel like the metaphor fits.
Orignal From: USG Passes the Bailout Bill After All
If you read this blog you know I knew they were going to do it.
Forget that the Federal Reserve already sunk $630 billion into our economy. I was shocked when I saw a Twitter post from thePuck Tuesday that the Fed had decided to move on its own. Earlier in the day, I saw another socnetizen in my circle microblog something like "what difference does $70 billion make? Apparently a lot."
He was referring to the $70 billion less the Fed was borrowing from other central banks.
While I was shocked, it wasn't shocked because the Fed went ahead and did it. I was shocked because the Federal Reserve is usually pretty low key. They speak in riddles and hide in the shadows. Don't believe me? Check out FederalReserveEducation.org and see how long it takes for your ADD to kick in. These guys do not want us to know what they're up to, or else we already would.
So, the idea that these guys would make a move like this and draw all sorts of attention to them, is very surprising. Why should they not want to draw attention to themselves?
Simple, they're the real power in our country. But I'm digressing. This post is about the USG passing a bailout bill anyway.
This is what baffles me. How can the media not cover this in any serious way? Did a single person on TV or in print ask the question of anyone in congress: "WHY do we need the bailout now??"
Yet, yesterday, a bailout bill passed the Senate.
The good news is that now the House needs to vote on it. Hopefully, they will say no.
The idea of bailing the water out of the sinking ship that is the American economy pisses me off.
A bailout is stealing money from our future pockets and putting it in the hands of the rich. Hell, it's stealing from our pockets now, too. All that money ($630 + $700 billion= $1.33 TRILLION) will drive the value of the dollar straight down. Of course, if you're disgustingly rich, you'll hardly feel it.
That's what this ultimately comes down to. The fucking rich and their rich pals in government.
This is no democracy. Its a corporatocracy. It's the feudal system all over again.
We all work for corporations/feuds that kiss the ass of the king/George. The king/George keeps the military working for the good of the corporations/feuds keep the peasants (us) in line.
Man, it sounds so extreme, but with the shrinking middle class and the ever-present corporation, I feel like the metaphor fits.
Orignal From: USG Passes the Bailout Bill After All
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
How McCain Puts America First
So, remember all that "America First" stuff at the RNC about a month ago? Well, something occurred to me since then, something that really should have struck all of us right on top of all of that bullshit "American First" rhetoric.
How does Senator John McCain NOT put "America First?" Let me count the ways:
1) He chooses a female running mate in the hopes more people will want to support a female candidate rather than a qualified one
2) He reveals his choice very close to the election in the hopes most of us won't have time to research his pick.
3) Keeps his candidate largely away from the press because, well, she's an idiot.
4) Covers these cynical, self-serving choices by repeating over and over and over the (clearly bullshit rhetorical) mantra "America First."
Sounds like Senator John is putting McCain First and not America.
Senator John is like Farmer John only without the moral fiber in his diet.
If this is how Senator John puts "America First" shouldn't we put him last?
Picture credit goes to Twitter's Baby_Obama and @Siskita
Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterli. How does Senator John McCain NOT put "America First?" Let me count the ways:
1) He chooses a female running mate in the hopes more people will want to support a female candidate rather than a qualified one
2) He reveals his choice very close to the election in the hopes most of us won't have time to research his pick.
3) Keeps his candidate largely away from the press because, well, she's an idiot.
4) Covers these cynical, self-serving choices by repeating over and over and over the (clearly bullshit rhetorical) mantra "America First."
Sounds like Senator John is putting McCain First and not America.
Senator John is like Farmer John only without the moral fiber in his diet.
If this is how Senator John puts "America First" shouldn't we put him last?
Picture credit goes to Twitter's Baby_Obama and @Siskita
Replies.Orignal From: How McCain Puts America First
Socialism and the Federal Reserve
In 1913, Woodrow Wilson (see portrait above) signed into law the Federal Reserve Act. The new law allowed for the creation of a central banking system. What does this have to do with socialism and why would I be writing about this in the middle of the current economic strife here in the US?
Not surprisingly, there has been a lot of writing (and blogging) about our economy. I've written about it a lot over the years, but most recently I blogged (here: http://thepete.com/…he-bailout ) about why I'm against the bailout, mainly because it breaks our own rules. After that, I blogged about why it's bad to break our own rules (here: http://thepete.com/…onable-man ), basically explaining that breaking our own rules makes us look like untrustworthy liars and it makes our laws look like jokes.
But in that last post I just linked to, I commented about socialism. People are accusing the USG of practicing the "S" word in bailing out Wall Street. I said that those accusers are both right and wrong. Effectively, they're right, but literally, not exactly.
Here's where the Federal Reserve comes into it.
The $700 billion the USG wants to give Wall Street will need to be borrowed before it can be gotten from We The People in the form of taxes. All banks and the USG borrow money directly from the central bank--the Fed. Now, the Fed is under no effective control of the USG. We don't vote for a single person who works for the Federal Reserve and the Fed's chairman is appointed the president for 14 years. (!)
In any practical sense the Fed is not a government agency. As a result, we can consider them a private organization. I've heard some say they are a legal corporation, but I haven't seen proof of this.
So, since the Fed is private and the USG is borrowing money from them, effectively, the Fed is bailing out Wall Street, not the USG. So, really, it's corporatism, not socialism.
But it sure feels like it's socialism, doesn't it?
Now, that's the nutshell. Not surprisingly, I have a lot more on the Federal Reserve loaning us money to bail out Wall Street and how the Fed is private. If you're interested, head over to http://thepete.com/. I've got a more complete version of this post there.
Effectively, though, I've made my point.
Isn't that funny? I keep having to use the word "effectively" because all this money stuff is so stupid and vague there's nothing tangible about it--just like our currency. If only we had a gold reserve... :(
Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterli. Not surprisingly, there has been a lot of writing (and blogging) about our economy. I've written about it a lot over the years, but most recently I blogged (here: http://thepete.com/…he-bailout ) about why I'm against the bailout, mainly because it breaks our own rules. After that, I blogged about why it's bad to break our own rules (here: http://thepete.com/…onable-man ), basically explaining that breaking our own rules makes us look like untrustworthy liars and it makes our laws look like jokes.
But in that last post I just linked to, I commented about socialism. People are accusing the USG of practicing the "S" word in bailing out Wall Street. I said that those accusers are both right and wrong. Effectively, they're right, but literally, not exactly.
Here's where the Federal Reserve comes into it.
The $700 billion the USG wants to give Wall Street will need to be borrowed before it can be gotten from We The People in the form of taxes. All banks and the USG borrow money directly from the central bank--the Fed. Now, the Fed is under no effective control of the USG. We don't vote for a single person who works for the Federal Reserve and the Fed's chairman is appointed the president for 14 years. (!)
In any practical sense the Fed is not a government agency. As a result, we can consider them a private organization. I've heard some say they are a legal corporation, but I haven't seen proof of this.
So, since the Fed is private and the USG is borrowing money from them, effectively, the Fed is bailing out Wall Street, not the USG. So, really, it's corporatism, not socialism.
But it sure feels like it's socialism, doesn't it?
Now, that's the nutshell. Not surprisingly, I have a lot more on the Federal Reserve loaning us money to bail out Wall Street and how the Fed is private. If you're interested, head over to http://thepete.com/. I've got a more complete version of this post there.
Effectively, though, I've made my point.
Isn't that funny? I keep having to use the word "effectively" because all this money stuff is so stupid and vague there's nothing tangible about it--just like our currency. If only we had a gold reserve... :(
Replies.Orignal From: Socialism and the Federal Reserve
Thanks Utterli!
Damn, had a really great (and concise!) post about the Federal Reserve and randomly Utterli decided to sign me out. Holy crap, that's annoying. Check out my screencap grabbed seconds after clicking "send". You can see in the upper right corner that I'm still logged in. I had been logged in for days. I'm sure it was random, but there's no way someone should be recognized as not being logged in after hitting the "send" button. How could I even see the send button if I wasn't logged in? There should be some line of code that can recognize this and at least save the content of the post someplace while the user logs back in.
This really infuriates me because I was really proud of this post not being absurdly long. It was like 3 paragraphs and I nailed it.
I remember asking someone at Utterz, a while ago, for an autosave. I haven't lost a post to this site in months. Man...
Mobile post sent by thepete using Utterli. This really infuriates me because I was really proud of this post not being absurdly long. It was like 3 paragraphs and I nailed it.
I remember asking someone at Utterz, a while ago, for an autosave. I haven't lost a post to this site in months. Man...
Replies.Orignal From: Thanks Utterli!
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