Blonde Joke

A Blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. She says she's going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow 5,000 dollars. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for such a loan, so the Blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce parked on the street in front of the bank. Everything checks out,and the bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. An employee drives the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Two weeks later, the Blonde returns, repays the 5,000 dollars and the interest, which comes to 15 dollars and 41 cents. The loan officer says, "We are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is why would you bother to borrow 5,000 dollars?"

The Blonde replied, "Where else in New York can I park my car for two weeks for 15 bucks?"

McCain's Fiscal Flights of Fantasy

McCain seems to think the problem with Bushonomics is that we simply need more of it. He is proposing more tax cuts, targeted at the highest ends of the economic spectrum. The bill for this comes to about $400 billion a year, or almost as big as the projected 2008 budget deficit, the largest in US history.

When asked how he would reduce this massive debt-hike, he cited "earmarks", "reducing waste" and slowing Medicare growth.

His first assumption is that all earmarks are a waste of money. I remember one report around 2000 mocking the government for funding a study on honeybees. Well, turns out that honey bees are going extinct, and their value to our agribusiness as free pollinators is estimated in the hundreds of billions per year. Not so trivial after, and money well spent IMO.

His second assumption is a cliche in politics. Everyone wants to "reduce waste", but no one can measure its size or come up with an instant plan to reduce it significantly. I'd be hard pressed to believe that he can find enough waste to save enough money to roughly fund the entire Defense Department, although much of that waste probably is within the Defense Dept.

His last assumption ignores the realities of the world. Medicare costs will accelerate as our population ages and as medical technology advance. Unless you want to tell your aging mother than she cannot have the latest breast cancer treatments because John McCain needs to pay for corporate tax cuts, medical costs will rise. Obviously, McCain has not found a way to stop the aging process, so it looks like his "savings" from Medicare will actually be even more expenditures.

McCain said not long ago that "economics is not my thing". He seems bound and determined to prove it as the US teeters into a recession of unknown depth, breadth and and length.

href="http://www.slate.com/id/2187570">McCain's Economic "Plan"

The Tide Is Turning

Yes, We Can!

Recession: The Movie

The Vietnam War spending without a tax hike created massive public debt that devalued the dollar and drove oil and food prices sky high. The resulting inflation dragged the economy down, bringing up unemployment and creating the first Stagflation recession, which lasted for the entire decade of the 1970s.

Is there any reason to doubt that the same thing isn't happening in the US today?

Hillary WASN'T LYING! Bosnia gunfire footage discovered...

The truth comes out!

False Memory Syndrome

CBS exposes Clinton's St. Patrick's Day tale: Clinton is a legend in her own mind.

Hillary's St. Patrick's Day Fable

A tale of danger and courage, that exists only in her own mind.

Can anyone say "Quagmire"

CNN's Michael Ware explains why the US cannot win in Iraq and yet can never leave.

Jerry needs no help playing with his ball.

One happy little dog.

What's in a Name?

An AIDS counselor was denied a passport so that he can help with training in Ghana because of his name.

The State Department, citing DOMA, refuses to allow him to travel under his married name, which is legally recognized in Massachussets. Claiming that he is not legally married, they will not grant him a passport until he legally changes his name back. I guess this is so that he won't destroy marriage throughout the US.

Gay Man Can't Travel on Married Name

Wanda Sykes on TEDS, March 2008

Ellen DeGeneres Calls Sally Kern

Ellen does it again!

Olbermann Slams Clinton Campaign...

Racism is a sin, not a campaign tactic.

Clinton: That's the Walmart Way

Clinton's ties to the most anti-union company in the US.

Ellen DeGeneres Discusses The Recent Tragic Death

Thank you, Ellen.

Fed Pushing Up Oil Prices

The weak US dollar is driving up oil prices, as investors are moving
out of dollar-based investments to commodities. Since the Fed began
slashing rates in late January, the dollar has fallen precipitously
across the globe, and oil has risen from $87/barrel to $107.

If the Fed continues to slash rates, oil may rise to over $120 or
higher, driving gas closer to $5/gallon. This may trigger the very
recession that the Fed hopes to avoid.

Rapidly Rising Oil Prices

Molly Ivins (RIP) Wouldn't Vote for Clinton

Here's what Texas' smartest political commentator had to say about Hillary Clinton:

Columns
Molly Ivins

I will not support Hillary Clinton for president
January 20, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas --- I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.

Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.

Molly Ivins

Clinton's Plan

I think I've figured out Clinton's plan:

She knows that she can't win. Pelosi has told her as much when she said that Florida & Michigan can't decide the nominee. Tom Brokaw said that Obama has 50 more Super Delegates lined up, ending her lead in that category. She knows that she will lose Mississippi, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and most importantly, North Carolina by large margins, so even an Ohio-sized win in Pennsylvania puts her nearly 200 delegates behind.

She may be holding out for the VP. She hinted at it today. She knows that Obama need not take 2nd fiddle, but it's an opening bargaining position.

I'm no Clinton fan, but at this point, I'd sell the VP to get her endorsement. It would end the race, and she does bring a lot to the table. From her perspective, she can get 4-8 years of legitimate experience instead of pretending to have been Bill's VP (what was his name again??) At age 68, she can run in 2016 and still be younger than John McCain.

It's not an ideal scenario for those of us who want to end the Clinton dynasty, but it worked for Reagan with Bush. If Obama wants to be JFK, he may have to wed LBJ all over again.

Bass Motives

Clinton's Law of politics (Hope)

Clinton gives the best reason for voting for Obama.