Mission Accomplished

What does it say about the viability of Sarah Palin's candidacy when her main goal in her vice presidential debate was to prove she isn't a complete drooling idiot—well all I can say is, "Mission Accomplished!"

While some hoped to see Palin meltdown onstage, all indications from Palin's background and experience demonstrated that so long as she prepared, she would do fine. After all, given all her other missteps, one would hope that at least being able to not hurt the ticket further by not embarrassing herself in the debate would be a minimum load she could handle.

At best, Palin did not personally embarrass herself as she has already done numerous times. However, this hardly qualifies her for the vice presidency of the United States. Nor does it help McCain much other than to somewhat stanch the damage she already has done to the ticket. Nevertheless, while many seemed to credit her for at least showing up and standing her ground, in terms of substance and presence, she nevertheless fell far short, as early polls from CNN and CBS seem to suggest. Palin continued to Palinize by skirting around questions and answering with vague message points that were long on platitudes and cheerleading, and short on substance or specific plans of action.

Palin’s answers do not lack confidence, they lack coherence. —Bob Schneider, CNN

Research Shows Conservatives are Genetically Cowardly

Explaining the root cause of the Bush Doctrine, a recent study showed that "people with strongly conservative views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals."

That sure explains a lot—and why, I think, John McCain initially asked to cancel this Friday's presidential debate, and why they are trying to cancel the vice presidential debate.

Burn, Baby, Burn

I understand the desire for the proposed $700 million bailout of financial institutions as a necessary safety net for the overall health of the national economy. However, I’ve changed my mind about this bailout for the following reasons:

This crisis is the result of an Administration and an ideology that believes that government should stay out of the way of business, that “government is the problem and not the solution,” and that the market should be allowed to take care of itself.

As such, I do not see why these financial institutions merit being saved when the crisis they are experiencing is the result of their own bad judgment and greed. It seems rather hypocritical to ask the government to stay out of business, then to turn to them for help when they get into trouble. Isn’t such weeding out simply an example of market forces at work?

While I somewhat agreed with the general argument that many homeowners who got themselves into mortgage trouble by overextending themselves and by making bad decisions did not deserve to be bailed out, it follows that the financial institutions who enabled those homeowners and were as much part of the problem deserve no assistance or sympathy as well.

This is cronyism at its worst. These financial institutions have always resented government intrusion into their business and many of the people in this field have resented government intervention programs for the disadvantaged. I say it is time to let these institutions burn down to the ground and let new more prudent ones take their place with the lessons learned.

And if such a bailout is to occur, I would expect the senior CEOs and managers of these institutions either to be fired or, at the least, expect them to be subject to a drastic reduction in compensation, and a loss of property and income. Given the obscene wealth and arrogance these people have demonstrated over the years, it is time for Wall Street to experience the same tangible pain as their victims on Main Street if they expect to beg the American people for their hard earned money to rescue them from their own greed and fiscal mismanagement.

Fit for the Presidency?

In my view, the issue isn’t so much whether GOP presidential candidate John McCain’s choice for vice president, Sarah Palin, is qualified to be president in the event that McCain, as president, would for some reason be unable to serve—but rather what Palin’s selection says about the judgment of McCain.

All indications state that McCain’s choice was made on the cuff and impulsively, with little vetting or consideration. Cynical reasons aside, while McCain is known for being his own man and often shooting from the hip, one must wonder whether such recklessness—particularly given the past 8 years—is what this country needs in this moment in history.

Even leading, thoughtful conservatives have questioned McCain’s suitability for the job….

God Has Spoken

So James Dobson prays for rain during Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech, and instead God brings Hurricane Gustav down on the GOP convention.

If ever there was a sign of God, I believe this was it.

We hear you God!

'Nuff said.

Bring It On

Barack Obama has just brought the fight to John McCain.

After weeks of McCain baiting Obama, Obama used his youth and vigor and defied McCain to come at him.

By the very fact that he came out strong, willing to stand up and go toe-to-toe against an opponent who has positioned himself as the tougher fighter, Obama proved he is ready for the Oval Office.

The McCain campaign's pathetic response shows they were caught flat-footed. Reports say that McCain's campaign will try to resist the bait, which only affirms that they have been cowed by what they witnessed tonight.

Bring it on.

Florida: Shithole of a State

The NRA has attacked Disney for not allowing it's employees to bring weapons into work.

I always suspected Florida was a shithole, and this confirms it if citizens don't have access to basic law enforcement protection and need to be armed against the crazed gunmen running rampant throughout the state.

Florida's real estate market is one of the worst hit in the country due to the recent mortgate loan meltdown—I guess no one wants to live there but criminals.

Let's hope Florida passes an ordnance requiring ALL citizens to pack heat so that we can watch the mutual genocide of the whole state.