September 2008 Archives

First of all, let me make this clear. I am a Conservative. I want a limited, small, debt-free government, low taxes and most of all, the freedom to do as I please as long as it does not impinge on the freedoms of someone else.

I am not a Republican. While there is at least some congruence, it is enough that I usually vote Republican, albeit holding my nose.

But enough about me. Let's talk about Obama.

Obama stands against everything I believe in. He wants an all-inclusive government, one that will take care of the average citizen, rather than staying out of the way of the People. He says things that a Socialist would say when he expresses his visions of how the country should be.

If he should get elected, he will certainly raise taxes. This will intensify any recession we will be in by that time. He will come up with new programs to help the citizens, making the citizenry more dependent upon government instead of less.

He has no executive experience. He started running for President just about the day that he was sworn in as a US Senator. He has very little Federal legislative experience, considering that he hasn't been in the Capitol for votes for most of the time.

He says he wants change. I totally believe that. He wants the change in my pocket, which is all that I'll have left when he gets done raising taxes. He wants to "help" me at the very time I am trying to get off government assistance. He will make it next to impossible for me to get back on my own two feet.

A vote for Obama is a vote for Socialism.

I just want to put a few things out there on this subject.

Bill Clinton started this, who made an initiative to give more people "the American dream," a house to call home. This was a relaxation of the rules and qualifications in order to buy a home.

It has since cascaded into the debacle that we have before us today. People were given loans who did not have to prove that they could repay it. They were given variable rate, interest only, balloon mortgages. Actually, it was the midnight tape Carlton Sheets real estate investors, who did the no money down stuff so they could upgrade and sell the house before you had to start paying the note.

Dave Ramsey did this, and when the economy hiccuped, all of his notes were called in simultaneously which bankrupted him.

This is what a lot of these foreclosures are, real estate investors. The other part of the equation is the poor people who didn't have to prove that they had the necessary income to pay on the note for the house they were buying. Again, they were given high interest subprime, variable rate, interest only, 40 year loans with a 5 year balloon payment.

And who is responsible? Many people and institutions. The bankers who made and then sold these mortgages, who made a hefty profit on selling the loan. Then the other investment bankers who diversified these loans and sold them as investments.

But Congress is also to blame. These 535 elected officials, who are supposed to be working for the interest of the People, who was supposed to provide oversight of the banking industry, did nothing. Why not? Everybody was making money, everybody was getting a home, everybody was happy.

And now the end of the party has come. And once again, the American people are left holding the bag. If the government does nothing, we would have had a Depression that made the 1929 crash look like a tea party. But the government is buying up all of these bad mortgages, devaluing the currency, adding another 10-15% onto the $10 trillion debt instantly.

This is what wanton greed gets you. Remember that.

I happened across this while perusing the local blogging scene.

One man brings into the discussion a position where he is concerned about Obamas position (or rather, lack thereof) on several stances.

What does Pesky Fly, a flaming Liberal have to say about it? He attacks the person saying it.

I called the man a racist--though not in so many words. I also called him an idiot, and an ass, and a fucker and assorted other things nobody likes to be called ever, let alone at a party. I called him a dick and a dildo and a bleeding canker and a twat and a know-nothing, and a greed-headed candidate for the worst person I'd met in ages.

Pesky almost, but not quite invokes Godwin's Law, but he might as well have.

And what is the crime that this person committed? What heinous act did he carry out? He said these words:

There's something about Obama... and I can't put my finger on it. I don't think I know who he is and that scares me.

THIS is why you can't have an intelligent conversation with a Liberal. They have no intelligent way of discussing the points of the position of the person they are talking with, they must attack and destroy the other person. Every time I extend my hand to a Liberal to have a reasoned conversation, I pull back a stump.

This is why Liberals must be defeated. They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be talked to or with. Liberals are morally bankrupt, and have no way to defend their position on anything. If they did have a way to defend their position without destroying the other person, I don't think they would use it, simply because they attack the person just out of habit.

And just in case you think Pesky is alone, just read the comments. In fact, here is a few choice ones:

Here is Jim Maynard, who describes himself as "...atheist/humanist, democratic socialist."

I empathize! I have had similar interactions and I don't know how to respond to these idiots who either "can't decide" between Obama and McCain and those who would even consider McCain/Palin! And those who whole-heartedly support Palin/McCain make me want to get a handgun!

How can we respond to the dumbass people who voted for Bush and are determined to vote for McSame? Are they racists, bigots, stupid, or crazy?

Somebody give me some talking points before I hurt someone!

So, he wants to do violence upon someone who disagrees with him? I wonder if he is like this on other subjects as well.

Jim comes right back and says this:

I agree with Bill Mahr, the American people are just STUPID! I don't trust them in the voting booth! Maybe "democracy" is not such a good idea...

andromeda says this:

Although the language may have been a little harsh, the sentiment was right on. For all those who just "can't put their finger on it", the word racist fits.

So, Pesky is not alone.

The thing of it is, despite my feelings toward a persons position, I can still respect a persons position and the person themselves. You are free to read my blog, and see if I have ever attacked someone personally. I may have called someone's position screwed up, but I have not to my recollection called a person what Pesky has called our original person for their stance on any subject.

Oh, Pesky's final words on the post:

I'd thought about seeking common ground. I was on the verge of launching a discussion about how, in spite of lingering Socialist stereotypes from the 1960's, post-Reagan Democrats like Clinton and Harold Ford Jr. had regularly enabled the worst aspects of contemporary conservatism. But instead I walked away calling the man a cock a prick and a doofus. I deeply regret that I didn't also call him a self-deluding stooge and a coward.

I just wanted to make clear who walked away calling names, not staying and having a reasoned discussion.

Okay, the last time I told you anything was the fact that the car was on its last leg, and I needed a new one. I couldn't get a loan, so I was forced to go to my mechanic and have them try and fix the emissions on the car.

Well, they poured three cans of BG44K into the car, one into the tank and two into the air intake via an atomizer. I followed their instructions on how to run the car for a day, then took it to the Memphis inspection station. I was happy when I passed the emissions test on the first try. I was astonished to see that my hydrocarbon level (what I had failed at) had dropped from 427 to 28! The limit is 220, so you can see I went from double to one tenth!

I am a firm believer in this stuff, to at least temporarily fix the emissions. We'll see how well it holds up next year when I have to have it inspected again.

Found on the internet:

Watch this:

How do you feel after seeing that footage again? Sad, horrified, enraged? Good. That's how you're supposed to feel. Hold on to that, never let it go. It should be a wound that never heals. Even though it's been seven years, that day is still fresh in my memory. Like my parents with Pearl Harbor, every American should remember where they were when they heard about the towers falling.

We still have a ways to go. We are, albeit slowly, handing control of Iraq back to Iraqis. We are running out of people to shoot in Iraq, which is why we are winning. The surge has worked, despite Obama's assertions to the opposite. Work is still going on in Afghanistan.

Today is Patriot Day. Never forget that. We must always be vigilant now to prevent this from happening again. But we must also remember our rights as Americans, and refuse to trade Freedom for security. Those who do that deserve neither.

Well, being a disciple of Dave Ramsey I don't borrow money. But the situation is that I need a car, as my present one is on its last legs, and I have no money to buy one with cash. The bad news is, with a credit score of zero, I can't borrow money, because every lender borrows only on the credit score. If you don't have any debt, you can't get anybody to sell you money.

I went to several car dealers, even one of those "WE APPROVE EVERYBODY!" places. In each case, when it came to borrow money, I'm not borrowing enough, or I need a co-signer. They won't let me borrow a reasonable amount of money, for a short period of time. Maybe because they're not making enough money off me to make it worth their while. I just ran some numbers, and if I get the loan I want, they only make $600, as opposed to a bigger loan for a longer time, like $12.5k for 48 months they would make $2,150.

I don't want to get a new car, because I'll have a payment that will strangle me for 4 years or more. And with the value of a new car dropping 30% when I drive it off the lot, that just isn't appealing to me. I'd rather buy a car for what it's worth instead of an inflated price just because no one has owned it before me.

So I'm stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Being in a negative cash flow situation this month only compounds my problems. I'm literally having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. My bank accounts are empty and on the verge of being overdrawn. Relief is an entire week away before I get my next paycheck. Before and after that I have a couple of reimbursement checks, but those are going to pay Peter back. I'm squeezing every penny to the point Lincoln is begging for mercy.

There is good news. Help is on the way. Things are going up on eBay this week, and hopefully they will sell for enough to cover the bills I know are coming. I am putting up a microwave, an exercise machine and an apartment washer-dryer. I am also selling my high-power rocket motors. Keep your fingers crossed that they will sell for enough to make it worth it.

I am also under a short deadline to move out of the old apartment, I have to be out by Monday the 15th. That will not be a lot of work, just the effort of putting all the stuff somewhere. I am also leaving a lot of stuff behind, as I can't do anything with a second queen-sized bed, or the furniture that goes with it. But I do have to move two bookcases, and all of my rocket stuff.

And this doesn't count that I have to organize a job fair, a walk-a-thon, and my normal work, PLUS time at the Depot, PLUS time helping my son get into college. I guess I'm going to have to give up sleep for the next couple of weeks and hope I don't decompensate.

Please keep my family and I in your thoughts and prayers, and a hit on the Paypal button wouldn't hurt either. =)

Found on the net:

When things in your life seem almost too much too handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full they agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained your life would still be full."

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car."

"The sand is everything else - the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal."

"Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."