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Fed Bailout Meeting Ends in Food Fight…

September 26, 2008 By Godfadr 2 Comments

Yesterdays meeting over the proposed bailout turned into a playground brawl. Macaroni was thrown in the lunchroom and some politicians were given swirlies in the restroom. Ok, maybe not to that extent but it is how I picture it in my mind. 

The Democrats say they reached bipartisan agreement, the Republicans are not so sure. Obama and McCain were present and I don’t think anybody on the road missed them. 

Far from solved, some of the issues are far reaching and cross the line to new ground. 

For starters, I am very interested in the draft that would require limits on compensation for the executives participating in the bailout. Yes, you heard right, they are considering limiting excessive “golden parachutes” for the executives that ran the failing companies. I hope it did not take “America’s Best” to figure that one out – unless of course some of the politicians are on payroll. 

Why on earth would you not limit the compensation? How about you limit it to say…ZERO. If the companies go under (without the help of taxpayer money) I suspect their current golden parachutes would fail to open under any circumstance – so why should the taxpayers fund any of it? 

Another point is whether, going forward, bankruptcy judges will be able to modify mortgage terms. Although perhaps seeming good for the consumer on the surface, these newly structured loans go back to pay…well, us. Good luck finding any lender in the future if the courts can go in and change the terms at any time. 

The upside? 

It appears they are not looking at dropping $700 billion all at once. The draft calls for Congress to make $250 billion available with another $100 billion on standby. 

Why the delay? 

Well, I would like to think it is because some people in DC are coming to their senses; that taxpayers bailing out private companies might not be a good thing. In reality I am going to guess the Treasury just can’t print money that quick without jamming up the machine. 

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Filed Under Culture Tagged With Fed Bailout, Fed to Loan Money, Government Mortgage Bailout, Government Spending, Mortgage Crisis, Risky Loans, US economy, US Economy in Trouble

What Economic Crisis? Just Print More Money!

September 25, 2008 By Godfadr 18 Comments

When I was six I thought I had the worlds financial situation figured out. If we were short on money; simply print more. Just hand out newly minted $100’s to the people and countries who need it. 

Of course as I got older I realized it was a really stupid plan. You can’t just print more money like a bad game of Monopoly. 

The problem is apparently my six-year-old inner child got a job in politics and he has lots of friends that share the “print more” mentality. Forget about the bad economy for a moment. Printing more money will never work. It is debt plain and simple and it is the taxpayers that will have to pay it back. 

Should we incur more debt by literally printing more money and handing it to the people that lost it in the fist place? Sure, why not?! Heck, lets go buy a recovering alcoholic a couple beers while we are at it. 

Bail out private companies and have the government take over? Sure, as long as you like Socialism. 

Oh, and since we are in such a gift giving mood with our newfound wealth…Fire the old board members but be sure to give them great severance packages in the process! Why not?! I mean if there company had gone under (which was the natural order of things) they wouldn’t have millions in their personal bank accounts [insert shallow tear here]. 

Perhaps I need to tap into my inner child for some other great ideas that will better mankind…apparently their time has come. Foot Long Pop Tarts. Check. Two-headed Cats. Check. Print a Trillion dollars of what will soon become play money. Check. 

Godfather Added: An actual up-to-date explanation about why we can’t print more money can be found here. 

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Filed Under Culture, Humor Tagged With Government Bailout, Government Spending, Politics, Print More Money

McCain Heading to DC? Politics at its Best!

September 24, 2008 By Godfadr 6 Comments

The gloves are off (or is it “on?”). Obama called McCain asking for a joint statement about the economy. McCain hung up the phone and told the media he was suspending his campaign to go back to Washington to help with the economic crisis. 

McCain also asked that the Presidential debates scheduled for Friday be postponed to some future date. 

Make no mistake the economic crisis is severe. The proposed bailout is nothing more than veiled socialism and a dangerous game with taxpayer money. Also don’t make the mistake that McCain is heading back to DC for the sole reason of helping out – he is sliding in the polls and needs something big. If he was ahead in the polls would he head back to DC or stay on the campaign trail to keep his lead?! 

This is political positioning at its best. McCain needs some help and Palin is losing popularity – any delay in the debate would be helpful. Ta Da – I am suspending my campaigning to go back to DC to help out during this crisis…what could be more American? 

Should be interesting to see how this one plays out. 

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Filed Under Culture Tagged With McCain Campaign, McCain heads to DC, McCain suspends Campaign, McCain wants to delay debate, Obama Campaign

Sarah Palin’s Treatment: Sexism or Secrecy?

September 24, 2008 By Godfadr 5 Comments

Apparently Sarah Palin is special (and I don’t mean short bus special). She gets treated differently than all the other candidates…ever. 

She doesn’t have to do interviews and if she does, no one is allowed to ask a question off script. Of course that didn’t work on a few occasions so lately it is no interviews with anyone. 

So why the brush off? 

One school of thought is the McCain camp is simply sexist. Frankly I don’t believe that or he never would have chosen her in the first place. 

I think in reality the McCain team is trying to get a short-time governor up to speed in a real hurry. When Palin has answered questions lately she has been off the mark or outright inaccurate – she is showing how much she doesn’t know. 

The “Educating Sarah” phase will have to go pretty quickly as the Vice Presidential debates will be coming soon and people are going to look for substance, not just wisecracking comments from a “hockey mom” – she is not auditioning for the Last Comic Standing after all.   

Sarah, stop the hiding. Get out and answer questions like the big boys (no pun intended). You won’t get to pick what issues you get to deal with if you make it into office, so no sense in starting now. It is how you answer the tough questions that define your character, not simply sidestepping them and blaming others. 

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Filed Under Culture Tagged With Palin won't answer quesitons, Sara Palin Sexism, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin Experience

The Slow Bleed Quote of the Week: Now That is Punny!

September 24, 2008 By Godfadr 1 Comment

First off, apologies for not giving credit to whomever originally wrote these Puns (no clue who did). Secondly, apologies to those that read them…

The roundest knight at Kings round table was Sir Cumference. 

I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian. 

She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still. 

A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption. 

The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work. 

No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery. 

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart. 

Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie. 

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. 

A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it. 

Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 

I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. 

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion. 

The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium, at large. 

The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran. 

A backward poet writes in-verse. 

In democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your count that votes. 

Feel free to add your own in the comments section! 

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Filed Under Humor Tagged With Funny Puns, Funny Quotes, Humor, Puns

The American Marriage?

September 23, 2008 By Godfadr 3 Comments

I had to take a break from all the economy related blogs I have been writing in the last week so I checked out the paper this weekend. Of course most of what was in the paper had to do with the economy except for Parade Magazines special report about marriages. 

The highlights? 

About 88% said they were “happy” or “reasonably content” in their marriage.  - Not sure I would settle for “reasonably content” but then again, given the alternative.

About 30% of Americans are only married for “Financial Reasons.” – I guess I better find out where that checkbook is after all. 

Nearly 70% of the men said they would never think about leaving their spouse. Nearly half of all women said they think about leaving their spouse occasionally…sometimes daily! 

31% have sex less then once per month. But then again, looking at the “would be likely to cheat” numbers I suspect that is only with each other. 

Would you marry your spouse again? 22% of the women said they would try and do better. 

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Filed Under Culture Tagged With marriage statistics

Is Paying Taxes “Patriotic?”

September 22, 2008 By Godfadr 6 Comments

Joe Biden (Obama’s appointed VP) is calling for the higher income individuals to pay more in taxes. Although McCain would have you believe most people will pay more in taxes under Obama, the fact is about 94% of all Americans will actually pay less. But in either case Biden says, “paying taxes is Patriotic.”

An interesting stance. Not since Kennedy’s famous “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” has anyone went the route of “time to pay the piper.”

Is paying taxes “Patriotic?” You have to first decide the definition of Patriotism. Typically it is the “pride” and “support” of your country. Flying an American Flag – Check. Dedicated people in the Military – Check. Wanting to pay more in taxes – Ummm Houston, we have a problem.

I am not going to suggest paying taxes is “Patriotic,” but I am going to suggest most people in this country want a whole lot more than they are willing to pay for (surprise!) 

Everyone wants health care (and should have it). Everyone wants great roads to drive on. Everyone wants their children to be educated in superior schools by the best teachers. The catch is, when it comes right down to it, most people just don’t want to pay for it.

The new “you owe me” mentality will, for the most part, be the final destroying element of this great country. This is the time to step up to the plate. Not just the wealthy, everyone. The government bailout of both private and public companies is just the beginning – a band-aid over what is amounting to be a very large wound. It is not the symptoms we need to treat, but the underlying mentality behind it. 

If paying more in taxes will (really) get this country back on track – then I am all for it. And, if that is how we define being Patriotic going forward, so be it. 

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Filed Under Culture Tagged With Economy, Is paying taxes patriotic?, Joe Biden, Paying taxes, Politics, US economy, US Economy in Trouble
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