The Blame Game ... isn't it interesting how certain numbers seem destined to make the news? First 9-11 and now 777 ...

Mediawingnuts' nomination for the blame for today's "777" meltdown

The Blame Game ... isn't it interesting how certain numbers seem destined to make the news? First 9-11 and now 777 ...

Forget Nancy Pelosi or George Bush or John McCain or Newt Gingrich or ... Hellfire, all you have to do is look at the "Made in China" stickers throughout Wallmart--or any other box store, supermarket or mall in America to find the blame. And it ain't China; it's us! "Us" is spelled "U.S.," by the way.

Rather prescient of 777, Inc in Jiangmen, China to have so branded their products, no?

(But what are Joe Biden's initials doing on their products ... ahah! I smell a conspiracy.

With only four days until she debates Mr. Biden, this might be a good place for Sarah to begin ...

A good place to start -- name the numbered regions (rough descriptive names would be sufficient) from something like the stylized Risk (game) map shown above

Governor Sarah Palin's restricted perception of the world (Northwestern Canada, Alaska and the easternmost provinces of Russia) makes practicing world geography and international geopolitics before Thursday's debate a necessity, I think. She's a "quick learner," according to Laura Bush and I believe she could catch up with Joe Biden in time for the debate. Of course, I would hope that more detailed regional maps would be provided to her after she becomes Vice-President Elect Sarah Palin.

Someone go out and purchase a Game of Risk for Sarah Palin ... quickly. (It's a shame someone hadn't thought to prepare GWB for being Commander-in-Chief with such a game and coloring book eight years ago.)

Go, Sarah ... Go!

Playing Risk at its lowest three levels would really help, I believe ...

Again ... thanks to Paint Shop Pro X2 ... please guys ... come up with something better than the President's "bailout plan"!

Okay ... okay ... I was wrong! Although we already are paying more than $650 billion to keep the Defense Department (and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars) going ... we really do need even more than that to keep the fat cats on Wall Street and all of the rest of us going too?

But I still say ...

NOT ONE DIME TO THE FAT CATS AS THEY POUR OUT THE DOORS!

But a request from us little guys ... as you continue to meet, Congressmen, Senators, Mr. President and presidential hopefuls, please also come up with an heroic salvation to this horrid mess that is both all-American in tone and doesn't leave the country in a deep freeze!

Is that asking too much?

(a question best left unanswered)

And also, hopefully, I won't have to use my Paint Shop Pro 2X layering, cut-and-pasting and washout art ever again.

Joe Biden's gaffes are beginning to compete with Saturday Night Live

Senator Joe Biden

Joe Biden recently told CBS Evening News, "When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened!'"

Except, Republican Herbert Hoover was in office when the stock market crashed in October 1929. FDR was elected three years later when Hoover failed to pick up a second term.

And as for television in 1929 …

This Joe Biden gaffe takes the blue ribbon! (Although Katie Couric should have picked up on it sooner than the next day.)

The polls look quite ominous for those of us who fear Obama ... I say "Let's dump McCain now and elect Sarah Palin as our first female president!"

I for one would proudly salute the one authentic candidate running! Please, Mr. McCain: Back down and let Sarah run--and WIN!!

Wasn't it you yourself, John McCain, who said (of Governor Sarah Palin) at the Republican convention: "She has executive experience and a real record of accomplishment. She’s tackled tough problems like energy independence and corruption. She’s balanced a budget, cut taxes, and taken on the special interests"?

Considering your apparent willingness to cave in to Wall Street, Mr. McCain ... and your nine-point underdog status this morning in the polls against Mr. O. ... isn't now the time to step down for health reasons and let a Sarah Palin-Mike Huckabee ticket (or vice versa, of course) return America to its honorable roots?

That would really throw Mr. Obama off his stride (a.k.a. "strut") and make history in a big way. It would also probably take Mr. O. so off-guard that he would wait a full month to dump Senator Joe Biden and pick up Hillary in a desperation move--but too late!

But whatever you do--as regards the looming wall Street bailout ... please ...

JUST SAY NO!

NOT ONE MORE DIME!!

To: Palin and Obama (and McCain and the other old white guy too) ... Just Say No!!!

Migod! We already are paying more than $650 billion to keep the Defense Department (and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars) going ... why do we need even more than that to keep the fat cats on Wall Street going too?

The sad reality of the situation is that all of the rest of us--and our children and grandchildren--are being asked to take on the responsibility of bearing the risk for the inane investments [sic] and other speculative decisions that have created great wealth for a few fat cats on Wall Street and even investment bankers in foreign countries who were involved in the sub-prime mortgage business over the past ten to fifteen years.

Nancy Reagan said it best:

JUST SAY NO !!!

It is truly time to say "No!" to any more corporate bailouts. The Bush tax cuts and a preemptive war against one of Iran's and Osama bin Laden's worst enemies (Iraq) has gotten is into trillions (that's "tr" as in "tribulation") of dollars of debt and has likely already taken universal health care, an improved infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.), major strides towards a first-rate public education for our children and comfortable retirement years from all but the very wealthiest of our citizens ... completely off the table for the coming decades.

What more can we give to keep that damnable Wall Street halfway stable?

I say

NOT ONE DIME MORE!

Is Obama Overtaking Palin in the Race to the White House

Our Part of the World of Late

Although I truly enjoy certain aspects of the topsy-turvy race between Barack and Sarah as they slip and slide so gracefully around and (yes) between each other in the craziest upside-down dogsled race to the White House ever, it's making me a little dizzy.

If I thought for a moment that Sarah could really turn Roe versus Wade around or truly reorient the center of American concerns around God and the family (you know, husband, wife, some kids and a dog--plus seven lovable cats if possible), I'd vote for her in a Jovian minute.

Probably will anyhow!

But the fact of the matter is that both Sarah and Barack have dead weights as running mates that confuse just about all of the issues considerably.

Although in different ways, both tickets are upside-down!

Where have all the old farts gone ... long time passing ...

Well at least the white Civic and its rickety carport are new ...

WHERE HAVE ALL THE OLD FARTS GONE?

Original words and music by Pete Seeger

Where have all the old farts gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the old farts gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the old farts gone?
Gone into politics every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where really have the old farts gone?
Long time passing
Where really have the old farts gone?
Long time ago
Where really have the old farts gone?
Gone into blogging every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

While not blogging during the past two years ... and when not inside of concentric "Minor and Master Controls" (long story) ... and when not running about looking for that "killer" UFO sighting, I picked up a 2007 Honda Civic and put a carport onto the right side of my pad--sort of helps hold it up. The other minor change from the last time I posted a picture of my abode is some inexpensive gravel to serve as a driveway--five cubic yards of it, so it wasn't that inexpensive!

You bought it--why not wear it?

credits to chzehong.blogspot.com

Actually, the "AIG" initials belong to the Manchester United soccer (excuse me, "football") squad, but stock in the spiffy T-Shirt franchise went up dramatically yesterday and today--while nearly every other stock went pffft.

Forget the LHC! Screw Wall Street! It's Iran that is the target, me thinks .... and soon!

Considering some of my more recent postings--from thoughts of the earth imploding into the LHC in Switzerland to the minor crash this morning on Wall Street--it would seem unnecessary to remind you all that the clock is still ticking on the likelihood of an Israeli attack upon Iran--something along the lines of what I suggested as a possibility/probability about three months ago. Or for that matter, it was a point of argument even back when we thought it would be Rudy and Hillary this November.

With the November election beginning to look more and more like a dogsled race, the window of opportunity for a US-backed/tolerated Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities may be closing.

Add to that the recent statement by Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev wherein (obviously after viewing one of those Mediawingnuts postings) that, "We know that certain players are planning an attack against Iran."

Earlier in the week--about a week ago, French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested an Israeli attack might be imminent unless Iran quits enriching uranium and implied that in the event the international community would be more than likely to turn a blind eye towards the attacker--Israel, of course.

Add to these statements the fact that our Pentagon has recently supplied Israel with about a thousand smart bombs equipped to take out underground targets, a.k.a. Iranian centrifuges tens to hundreds of feet underground.

I guess now might be as good a time as any for us all to hold our collective breaths.

We need you this very minute, Sarah Palin!

U.S. stock index futures were tumbling all night as I found it hard to sleep with Cable Channel 046 (CNBC in Ocean Shores, Washington) blaring continuously at the foot of my bed last night. As the bankruptcy filing of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers and cascading fears about the stability of other major financial institutions were rattling global markets--including a buyout of the venerable Merrill Lynch assets to Bank of America, it looked mighty like the stock market woes of those years just prior to my birth back in the late 1920's and early 1930's.

And to think I only learned what the heck Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were all about two or three weeks ago ...

I guess it would be unamerican to say that the combination of Big Oil and the Credit Card companies' stranglehold on the Free market and capitalism is finally causing major hits on Wall Street these days ... so I'll just say that something is certainly wrong and it's not Iraq's insurgent factions and it's not Russia's incursion into Georgia ...

It's not even Osama bin Laden, at least not this morning!

Yes, I think I know what the LHC is and yes, what a Higgs Boson Particle is too ... but naked protons?

Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland

But more to the point: I never really believed that last week was likely to be our last on this earth--or for this earth or for this galaxy to read some of the more exciting blog postings. First, protons pass through the earth relatively frequently at even greater speeds than they will race around the LHC and yes, we're still here, and secondly, anything suggested by both Jay Leno and David Letterman in the same evening should be disregarded anyway.

For some good reading that is at a level that I can lecture it at the community college level (yes, I still teach at my age), read Quantum, a Guide for the Perplexed or simply the latest issue of Popular Science--which I subscribe to as a donation to the institute wherein I teach--about which I am not permitted to say more.

My guess is that the picture below is more likely to result from a four or five star general's miscalculation or some political leader's dream of a New World Order than from some scientist's having gotten the sixth or seventh digit to the right of the decimal point incorrect in an application of Schrodinger's Equation--considerably more noteworthy than E=mc², btw.

Incidentally, the LHC won't be up to 'full speed' until sometime after November--as best can be estimated today.

More likely to be the concluding 'Shock and Awe' of World War III than any LHC, HBP or an electrical malfunction in Steven Hawking's electronic walking/talking apparatus

It does seem as though what's-his-name has become pretty much irrelevant in this campaign ...

The November Candidates: Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin

Now, I'm not suggestimg that Mr. O. should have selected Hillary over what's-his-face, but surely she would have brought the excitement of Bill and Chelsea into play during the otherwise dull Fall months. But don't get me wrong; the older white guy (one of the guys who debated against Hillary early on, I believe) from up somewhere along the East Coast--the one whom Mr. O. ultimately selected as someone who couldn't possibly--even accidentally--upstage His Holiness--is a reasonably nice person ... I think.

Only a little forgettable ...

And to think Serenissima regarded the GOP (a.k.a. Sarah Palin) as being "sarcastic, sneering, dishonest" (comment in a recent posting) ...

Yesterday, Sen. Obama disputed the McCain-Palin ticket's "maverick" claim, at one point noting that "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig". An explosion of laughter from his audience on the word 'lipstick' seemed to indicate that many people recalled the punchline of Gov. Palin's convention joke about the difference between a hockey Mom and a pit bull, and thought he was ridiculing her.

The combination of Sen. Obama’s ability to mesmerize a crowd, and Gov. Palin's endearing personality almost-instantaneously aroused both Obama's crowd--who view him as nothing less than a 21st Century Messiah--and the rest of us who are pretty upset.

His intent notwithstanding, how did we all hear it. That is what counts, and I think you will see the results of how they heard it in the coming week--and possibly through till November. I stand by my earlier posting wherein I suggested that there was a narcissistic streak running through Mr. O.'s entire character.

He will likely never apologize simply because he knows that he couldn't say something--even accidentally--that could upset his steamroller-like jaunt towards the Presidency. Just like his non-selection of Hillary three weeks ago!

It will surely be comforting having a three time winner of the 2,000 mile (longest) snowmobile race sleeping close by a heart-beat from the President!

Todd Palin will add a new dimension to the nation's Second Family

An American Family in Whom I can Believe!

Sarah and Todd Palin have five children, four of whom are shown above--Bristol, Piper, Track, and Willow. Little Trig is shown at the bottom of this posting.

By now I'm sure you've heard that Bristol Palin — the teenage daughter of Alaska governor (and Republican vice-presidential choice) Sarah Palin — is five months pregnant, out of wedlock, at an age that qualifies her as being a "child." Since the news broke day before yesterday, the media has been having a field day.

Hopefully, the to-be-parents (both children themselves) will not rush into marriage because they feel they must. Sarah and Todd Palin (the to-be-grandparents) will provide the needed love and support, and time itself will bring both Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston (the to-be-father, shown below) into mature adulthood. Even the wording of his (now inactive) MySpace blog, ("I'm a f***in' redneck" plus other choice self-deprecating remarks) suggests that young Levi has a bit of growing and maturing to achieve--and likely so does young Bristol.

Without question, the perfection of little Trig and the newly revealed pregnancy of Bristol make the Palins the most nearly "average" American family whom we have ever welcomed into nomination for membership into the First/Second Families of our nation.

I for one would be proud to cast my ballot for the McCain-Palin ticket, even though I, like so many Americans, also look forward to the day when an African American--or anyone from any race, religion or whatever--becomes our President or Vice-President.

Levi Johnston, high school hockey star and possible new son-in-law to the Vice-President of the United States

I've read commentary referring to him as "hot," "sexy," "creepy," "a jock," "a redneck bigot," and more. Why not simply, "a mixed up youngster who made a mistake and is feeling the pain of that mistake"? Isn't he, after all, one of us--a child of God and deserving of our prayers and best wishes?

And while speaking of "children of God" ... little Trig is a doll and a half, isn't he? A belated "Congratulations" to both Sarah and Todd for the birth of their beautiful son five months ago!