Economy: Obama Wins

Remember how yesterday McCain was racing to Washington to save the economy? Remember how he suspended his campaign because the economy was about to collapse?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E

A summary of the video: Letterman's peeved because McCain canceled his appearance on the Letterman show, but while they were taping the show, they found out McCain was actually still in town (not even 1000 foot steps away, probably), doing an interview with Katie Couric.

Of course, it would only be fair to report that McCain's interview was on the economy. But if you read the transcript of the interview, McCain admits that Obama was the one to boost attention to the financial bailout issue by calling McCain to set up a joint statement about it.

And then instead of making that joint statement, McCain "suspended" his campaign so he could "race back to Washington" and save the U.S., but on the way he stopped by the CBS studio for an interview. Apparently, as McCain stated in the interview, "now is not the time for statements. Time is now to act." And his first priority response was apparently to get an interview with Katie Couric. That's just not a good plan for saving the economy, in my opinion.

My position: Obama's economic plan makes a heck of a lot more sense than McCain's.

McCain's Gambit, Obama's Invitation, and Bush's Plan that Makes No Sense

Odd Events Have Occurred

First, McCain suspended his campaign to head back to D.C. and "broker a deal to save the financial industry".

Obama decides to continue his campaign, claiming that "this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess." (Same source as above.)

McCain's move is an obvious ploy to appear as if he's strong on economy, as all the analysts are saying that his slip in the polls was due to U.S. citizens feeling like Obama was better equipped to handle the economy. And while it's an obvious ploy, it's a good one.

Oh, but wait, the president invites Obama to the White House to help solve the crisis. Hm. Voluntarily suspending the campaign or being asked by the president.... It's a toss-up.

Of course, to cap off the evening, Bush summarizes the financial crisis and asks the nation to support his bill that makes no sense.

The summary as I understand it: Banks are having problems because people can no longer afford to buy all the condos that went up. Bush's solution: give money to banks! That way, banks can sit around with a bunch of empty condos and not worry about the bills, while the population continues to struggle to find adequate housing / jobs / and more.

If it makes sense to you, please explain it to me.

War: What Else are Presidents Good For?

My current position: Obama is more likely to deal
with potential and current military conflict in a way that I approve of.

No other issue is more directly related to the presidency than war.

Presidents rarely enact major health care reform, radically improve the economy, or even impact education. If they do, they do it with Congress's help (among others).

But out of 43 U.S. presidents, 17 of them have been at war, while virtually all of them have ordered military intervention of some kind.* Truly, out of all items on a candidate's platform, we should vote for a president with the ability to know when to go to war, when to order military intervention, and when to use diplomacy. Historically, that's the main job of a president.

In choosing a president for this ability, I want to answer these questions:

Which candidate is most likely to effectively use diplomacy to avoid military conflict?

Obama has said repeatedly that he would be willing to meet with leaders of Iran, North Korea, Syria, and others. He also showed initiative by taking his campaign to foreign countries. Clearly, he is serious about forging positive international relationships.

McCain prefers to rely on a "multilateral pressure" strategy, which as nearly as I can figure out has consisted of a bunch of countries getting together and deciding not to talk to those nations who oppose the United States' demands (no source on this, as I can't find a clear statement of what these countries' strategy is).

There is a lot of Internet buzz about the word "Unconditional" and the phrase "without precondition" but I've ignored that part of this because it's stupid and juvenile. I would think that anyone getting on Air Force One would think for more than two seconds before they accept an invitation to meet with a friend OR foe. The main points to me are that Obama keeps talking about meeting with people, and McCain keeps talking about carrying on the current strategy which thus far hasn't resolved anything.

If military intervention is necessary, which president will choose the most effective strategy for success?

McCain's choice of strategies is pretty clear. He's been vocal in supporting the way the war in Iraq is currently being handled. johnmccain.com states that McCain "advocates continuing the successful counterinsurgency strategy that began in 2007."

Obama has pledged to end the war in Iraq. He has also introduced legislation for that purpose, demonstrating his intention.

I might have time to go into war in more detail later, but for now this should help clarify your position on this issue, depending on how you feel about the way the war in Iraq is being handled, and what you think about how to handle the brewing potential conflicts.



* This is hard to document with one clear source, but you can start here, and then add in wars with Native Americans.

Mainstream Media Fails To Cover Election; Only Bloggers Can Save the World, Now

I'm taking a pledge: I will only blog about the election until it's over.

Why? Because the mainstream media have failed to report crucial, relevant details about the current presidential race.

What does this mean to you? You'll find relevant information about each of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates right here on this blog.

If you have a blog, or if you've always wanted to start one, I hope you'll take the following pledge with me, and pass it on to others. Together, we can report on this election as the mainstream media should.



The Pledge

Until the end of November 4, 2008, I will only post blogs that are relevant to the U.S. election.

I will use facts without distortion, and cite sources for those facts.

I will present events, issues, and candidates as fairly as possible.


I will not report on gossip or irrelevant squabbles.

When I have a position on an issue being discussed, I will make that position known while focusing the discussion of that position on a fair representation of the relevant facts.

Fake Assignment: You Do Not Do This One

Really, this is just a test. Do not follow these directions.

1. Get comfortable.

2. Readjust your level of comfort.

3. Get re-comfortable.

4. Watch "Indicator" at PorkFilled.com.

5. Name one thing that happened in the bathroom.

6. Determine what color of underwear the Space Bear is wearing.

7. Visit Seattle Untimely and press play.

8. Go back in time and answer number 6.

9. If you still have money left, save it.

10. Go to SketchFest. I'll be there on Wednesday, September 24th (not as a performer, though--as an exaggerator).

11. Say hi.

12. Suddenly realize that those links are connected in some way. Or not.

13. Watch Intro 3 here.

Success!

Now you're a tomato.

A light in the sky in New Mexico (Documentation)

I was staying with a cousin in New Mexico, not far from Truth or Consequences but still well away from civilization.

To get there, my rental car climbed an unpaved, winding slope to a ranch with no neighboring houses in sight. A dog greeted me at the car and instantly peed on my suitcase.

When it was time for bed, I turned out the light in the guest room and was greeted by darkness that comes only from being nowhere near an artificial light. Even after ten minutes of adjusting, my eyes could not see the walls, the window, the sheets--not anything.

I was drifting off to sleep when I sensed light behind my eyelids. I opened my eyes. There was light coming from outside the window.

The light was bright, but I couldn't see what was making the light because of the fog. It just hung there in the sky, never moving.

I watched it for what seemed like an hour, but was probably more like five minutes. Then I got bored and tried to go back to sleep.

Soon, the light went out. I knew this because I was still awake when I sensed darkness seize the space in front of my eyelids.

I opened my eyes. I couldn't see anything.



The next morning, as I carried my newly-washed suitcase out to the car, I looked for a very tall post with a powerful light on it. There was nothing there.

I didn't ask about the light. I didn't want to bring up a potentially embarrassing feature of living there. Besides, my cousin was already embarrassed enough about the dog peeing on my suitcase.

I'm not hot, but people want to do me, implies Facebook application

According to the Compare People application on Facebook, here are some statistics:





0 of 11 thought I had a better body than a random friend.



20% thought I was sexier.



20% thought I was more attractive.



31% thought I was cuter.



40% thought I was hotter.







Yet, 80% would rather sleep with me.

Explain.

I go well with soup

Once upon a time, Will and Alexander decided to eat Aaron Dietz, who happened to be in season at the grocery store. Yum!




They cooked Aaron Dietz for the requisite number of minutes at just the right temperature. Kazam wow!




And then, they added the condiments. Shwah hoy ole!




Oh, so good! Never the sleep befall the joy, as you can see!