"Did you take a stupid pill?" These were the first words my brother said to me when he called me last night. Immediately after that he started trying to lecture me out of supporting Obama.
"How can you support him?" I explained that I wanted to support McCain, but McCain talked me out of supporting him by starting the mudslinging instead of sticking to the issues, through his proposal of taxing health care benefits, and through his selection of Sarah Palin, who I think it severely lacking in intellectual prowess. He responded by calling me naive. Apparently he believed that he could insult me into changing my vote. Instead, I told him that I no longer agree with McCain or his policies. I also told him that calling me naive was NOT the way to get me to change my mind.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Call Me Nero
Based on my last couple of posts, you've probably noticed that I'm paying attention to what's going on in the world around me. Bush is finally on his way out, meaning that one way or another things are going to change. Okay, I really don't believe that. I think that Democrats and Republicans are cut from the same cloth... they're just different sides of the same itchy, chafing piece of burlap.
While this happens, the global economy is collapsing before our eyes. Trillions of dollars (a sum of money I really can't put my little brain around) have evaporated... literally disappeared. My own retirement fund has lost 1/3 of its value in the last year. The press is calling this the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and I can't disagree with them.
With all of this happening around me, I have occasionally seen myself start to worry about the future... wondering how I'm going to get through this... how my wife will get through this... how it will impact my kids. I witness Wall Street's nosedive and think that each additional day of declines is another year or two that I'll have to work... a sacrifice I will have to make but can't quantify, because it's in the future. It would be easy to work myself into hysteria.
But I'm not going to do that. I have enough. I have enough for today. I have a wonderful wife, awesome kids, great friends and a kick-ass life. I can plan for tomorrow... for a decade from now, but I can't account for every contingency. And the more I try, the less I can enjoy today.
Besides, the money that's evaporating never really existed anyway. It's not real currency, it's money on paper. This type of currency doesn't really exist until you cash out. Furthermore, it's time to bring things back into perspective. We, as a country, haven't really suffered since WWII. During the Great Depression and WWII, we had to band together and do without in order to survive. Since then, yeah, a few have suffered, but for the most part we've lived a cush life. The baby boomers don't know what it's like to scrimp and save. They're selfish, which is a huge reason that our biggest problems -- such as Social Security -- have been put off and put off.
Now it's time to pay the piper. And I'm ready. That's right. I acknowledge that I haven't suffered. Life's been good to me so far, but I'm smart enough to know that things can't continue this way without the shit hitting the fan. The longer we put things off, the more shit... the bigger the fan... and the bigger the splatter. I say bring it on now. Unlike the Baby Boomers, who are unable or unwilling to deal with crisis, I am ready, willing and able to tackle our problems head-on, so my kids don't have to.
So, while our economy goes up in flames, I'm not going to scream and run in fear; I'm going to say "Pass the marshmallows."
While this happens, the global economy is collapsing before our eyes. Trillions of dollars (a sum of money I really can't put my little brain around) have evaporated... literally disappeared. My own retirement fund has lost 1/3 of its value in the last year. The press is calling this the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and I can't disagree with them.
With all of this happening around me, I have occasionally seen myself start to worry about the future... wondering how I'm going to get through this... how my wife will get through this... how it will impact my kids. I witness Wall Street's nosedive and think that each additional day of declines is another year or two that I'll have to work... a sacrifice I will have to make but can't quantify, because it's in the future. It would be easy to work myself into hysteria.
But I'm not going to do that. I have enough. I have enough for today. I have a wonderful wife, awesome kids, great friends and a kick-ass life. I can plan for tomorrow... for a decade from now, but I can't account for every contingency. And the more I try, the less I can enjoy today.
Besides, the money that's evaporating never really existed anyway. It's not real currency, it's money on paper. This type of currency doesn't really exist until you cash out. Furthermore, it's time to bring things back into perspective. We, as a country, haven't really suffered since WWII. During the Great Depression and WWII, we had to band together and do without in order to survive. Since then, yeah, a few have suffered, but for the most part we've lived a cush life. The baby boomers don't know what it's like to scrimp and save. They're selfish, which is a huge reason that our biggest problems -- such as Social Security -- have been put off and put off.
Now it's time to pay the piper. And I'm ready. That's right. I acknowledge that I haven't suffered. Life's been good to me so far, but I'm smart enough to know that things can't continue this way without the shit hitting the fan. The longer we put things off, the more shit... the bigger the fan... and the bigger the splatter. I say bring it on now. Unlike the Baby Boomers, who are unable or unwilling to deal with crisis, I am ready, willing and able to tackle our problems head-on, so my kids don't have to.
So, while our economy goes up in flames, I'm not going to scream and run in fear; I'm going to say "Pass the marshmallows."
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Still Watching the Train Wreck
I was hanging out at a friend's house last night, helping him do some stuff around the house. I asked him if he was going to watch the Presidential debate. "Nah," he answered, "but we can turn it if you want to watch it." I figured he hadn't planned to see it, and was pleasantly surprised when he offered to change the channel so I could watch.
"I don't think I'm going to vote," he said during the debate. His wife came out and echoed his sentiment. They both believe that nothing will change as long as we have a two-party system of Democrats and Republicans. I can't say that I really disagree with their rationale, but I can't support their decision.
My understanding is that Ron Paul realized that he's not going to win any Presidential elections, but understands he has a vocal minority, so he held a rally and basically said if you don't support either major candidate, you can still vote for none of the above, and with that introduced some of the fringe party candidates. I told my friend and his wife about this, and recommended that they vote for someone else... at least they're making their voices heard. But I'm digressing... I wanted to talk about the debate.
Okay, maybe not... there were no real surprises, except that McCain failed to whallop Obama in what is widely accepted a McCain's favorite forum, and the fact that McCain proposed the buyout program.
Anyway, I walked out of the debate still wanting to support McCain, but even more convinced that Obama is the guy. Regardless of what I think though... please vote. Even if you don't choose one of these two guys, voice your opinion.
"I don't think I'm going to vote," he said during the debate. His wife came out and echoed his sentiment. They both believe that nothing will change as long as we have a two-party system of Democrats and Republicans. I can't say that I really disagree with their rationale, but I can't support their decision.
My understanding is that Ron Paul realized that he's not going to win any Presidential elections, but understands he has a vocal minority, so he held a rally and basically said if you don't support either major candidate, you can still vote for none of the above, and with that introduced some of the fringe party candidates. I told my friend and his wife about this, and recommended that they vote for someone else... at least they're making their voices heard. But I'm digressing... I wanted to talk about the debate.
Okay, maybe not... there were no real surprises, except that McCain failed to whallop Obama in what is widely accepted a McCain's favorite forum, and the fact that McCain proposed the buyout program.
Anyway, I walked out of the debate still wanting to support McCain, but even more convinced that Obama is the guy. Regardless of what I think though... please vote. Even if you don't choose one of these two guys, voice your opinion.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Train Wreck
I don't want to watch, but I can't help myself. Yep, it's once again time for me to talk about politics and the economy.
Did anyone out there watch the Vice-Presidential debate? I certainly did. I wanted to see if Palin is as clueless as Tina Fey made her out to be in her SNL skits. The answer? I think Tina Fey went easy on Palin. After the debate, the political pundits -- apparently trying to appear neutral -- said that she held her own against Joe Biden. I can't help but wonder if we watched the same debate. I had three jokes that I had considered turning in to SNL for this week's inevitible skit. One was how Palin kept referring to Alaska as an energy-producing state. If you didn't know that going in to the debate, you sure knew it afterwards. The second joke was how Palin said that she may not answer the questions to the moderator or Biden's liking... 'In fact, I won't answer the question at all if it doesn't discuss Alaska's energy producing prowess.' The third joke was her frequent reference to McCain as a maverick, and how she somehow earned the right to use that term as an accurate description of her own record.
Biden impressed me. He kept his answers short... and they were answers... a stark contrast to the Tina Fey look-alike. I was specifically impressed with Biden's willingness to point his finger at the camera for emphasis. This has historically been a no-no, which is why Bill Clinton always did that annoying thumb-point thing. I also liked Biden's comment that Cheney was trying to re-write the Constitution in order to make himself a member of the Senate. Biden struck me as someone who attempted to answer questions in a forthright manner, backing his statements up with facts as he understood them. (Yes, I know that some things were twisted for partisan gain.) Palin came across as a talking head.
This is horribly disappointing. I've long been a McCain supporter. I long considered him to be a good presidential candidate. After the democratic election, McCain started a mud-slinging campaign, and that made me pause. When he chose Palin as his running-mate I remained neutral about the decision... until she spoke. Now, I just can't see myself voting for McCain. Obama and Biden have impressed me, and McCain has disappointed me.
Let's talk about that economic stimulus package for a little bit... you know, the $700 billion bailout. I'm not sure what to think about the whole thing. Part of me realizes that I'm not the expert, so I should take the word of people who actually have a little authority on the subject. They say we need this, so we need this.
But why now? We've been heading down this road for years... why is it so suddenly such an emergency that the president screamed the sky is falling, and congress acted so swiftly that the measure was passed in two weeks? And for those of you who don't remember, the last time our illustrius leader said that, we ended up invading Iraq.
And why should the fat cats get all of this money? A friend of mine -- who's a hard-core democrat -- summarized things beautifully when he said 'Look, politicians scream about handouts that help poor people pay their rent and put food on their table, but now that the super rich are demanding a handout, it's a done deal.' That's a great point. A couple of days later, I got an email that said 'Hey, instead of bailing out Wall Street with that $700 Billion, why don't you give to the American people?' Another great point. Taking the email at face value, that works out to about $250,000 per adult -- after taxes. If there are two adults in the household, that would be a cool half a mil! Imagine what we could do with that kind of money... pay off our homes... pay off our credit cards, student loans, automobiles... If the government wanted to stimulate the global economy, I can't think of a better way... but no, they gave it to Wall Street. And wouldn't you know it, the street is already saying it's not enough.
Did anyone out there watch the Vice-Presidential debate? I certainly did. I wanted to see if Palin is as clueless as Tina Fey made her out to be in her SNL skits. The answer? I think Tina Fey went easy on Palin. After the debate, the political pundits -- apparently trying to appear neutral -- said that she held her own against Joe Biden. I can't help but wonder if we watched the same debate. I had three jokes that I had considered turning in to SNL for this week's inevitible skit. One was how Palin kept referring to Alaska as an energy-producing state. If you didn't know that going in to the debate, you sure knew it afterwards. The second joke was how Palin said that she may not answer the questions to the moderator or Biden's liking... 'In fact, I won't answer the question at all if it doesn't discuss Alaska's energy producing prowess.' The third joke was her frequent reference to McCain as a maverick, and how she somehow earned the right to use that term as an accurate description of her own record.
Biden impressed me. He kept his answers short... and they were answers... a stark contrast to the Tina Fey look-alike. I was specifically impressed with Biden's willingness to point his finger at the camera for emphasis. This has historically been a no-no, which is why Bill Clinton always did that annoying thumb-point thing. I also liked Biden's comment that Cheney was trying to re-write the Constitution in order to make himself a member of the Senate. Biden struck me as someone who attempted to answer questions in a forthright manner, backing his statements up with facts as he understood them. (Yes, I know that some things were twisted for partisan gain.) Palin came across as a talking head.
This is horribly disappointing. I've long been a McCain supporter. I long considered him to be a good presidential candidate. After the democratic election, McCain started a mud-slinging campaign, and that made me pause. When he chose Palin as his running-mate I remained neutral about the decision... until she spoke. Now, I just can't see myself voting for McCain. Obama and Biden have impressed me, and McCain has disappointed me.
Let's talk about that economic stimulus package for a little bit... you know, the $700 billion bailout. I'm not sure what to think about the whole thing. Part of me realizes that I'm not the expert, so I should take the word of people who actually have a little authority on the subject. They say we need this, so we need this.
But why now? We've been heading down this road for years... why is it so suddenly such an emergency that the president screamed the sky is falling, and congress acted so swiftly that the measure was passed in two weeks? And for those of you who don't remember, the last time our illustrius leader said that, we ended up invading Iraq.
And why should the fat cats get all of this money? A friend of mine -- who's a hard-core democrat -- summarized things beautifully when he said 'Look, politicians scream about handouts that help poor people pay their rent and put food on their table, but now that the super rich are demanding a handout, it's a done deal.' That's a great point. A couple of days later, I got an email that said 'Hey, instead of bailing out Wall Street with that $700 Billion, why don't you give to the American people?' Another great point. Taking the email at face value, that works out to about $250,000 per adult -- after taxes. If there are two adults in the household, that would be a cool half a mil! Imagine what we could do with that kind of money... pay off our homes... pay off our credit cards, student loans, automobiles... If the government wanted to stimulate the global economy, I can't think of a better way... but no, they gave it to Wall Street. And wouldn't you know it, the street is already saying it's not enough.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sometimes My Ex Still Amazes Me
... and not in a good way. Just when I've adjusted to her stupid shit, she pulls another idiotic stunt, and I'm stunned all over again.
When we split up, we decided that we'd alternate taking care of the kids' birthday parties. On odd years, I would throw the older kid's party and she'd do the younger one's celebration. On even years, we'd switch. I'm still uneasy doing these parties, if only because she's there, but hey, it's not about me... it's about the kids.
Last weekend we threw the younger kid's party. It's the ex's turn to take care of the older one... and it's a biggie, because the big 'un is turning sweet 16. Last month, my daughter and the ex started talking about the sweet 16 party, and my kid was understandably excited about the milestone birthday.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago. My wife and I found out -- from the kid -- that there would be no sweet 16 party. Apparently, the ex is once again strapped for money and she told the kid that there would be no party as a result.
In order to understand the full implications of this, I should recap...
Roughly a year ago, the ex was pulled over for driving a car with an expired registration. During this stop, the cop discovered that she not only had an expired registration, but she stole the registration sticker from another car (but wasn't smart enough to steal another one when that sticker expired), that she had no insurance, that she was driving with a suspended license, and that there was a warrant out for her arrest.
Her car was impounded as a result of this arrest. She was unable to pay to get it out of impound, so it was sold at a police auction, and she got some heavy fines which she also didn't pay.
A month or two later, she was evicted from her apartment for not paying her rent, and she moved in with some friends. The friends live in a teeny little house built in the 1930's and have two kids of their own. The ex lives in a single room and when the kids stay with her, all three of them are in a single room about the size of your average bedroom.
Because of the living arrangements, my wife and I asked to keep the kids more often. After all, when they're with the ex, they're all three stuck in a single small room. When they're here, they've got their own space, they can still catch the bus to school in the mornings, they've got ready access to their friends, and so forth. In a moment of sanity, the ex agreed to our request. This agreement was all under the table, so there was no change in child support. Yes, my wife and I are the full-time parents, the ex is a weekend mom, and I'm still paying child support for this privilege.
So, to sum it up... the ex has no car payment, no car insurance to buy, no gas to buy, less food to buy, and no rent because she's staying with the friends rent-free, and there's no reduction in her income. She should have more money than she know how to spend.
A couple of months back, she got her license back. This is not because she paid off her fines, but because she petitioned the court, and was approved for a repayment plan. She got a car, but it was given to her. She's now paying for gas, but there's still no car payment, and still no rent. She should still be bring in more money than she has to spend.
She's known about our daughter's sweet 16 for -- well, for 16 years! She's had about ten months to squirrel a little bit away each month for the party. Hell, she should have known approximately how much the party would cost when they made the initial plans for the party. But now, less than a month away from her sweet 16, mom has told our daughter that there will be no party. My wife found out about this two days ago. I talked about it to the kid last night.
I told her that I didn't think she should have to give up her sweet 16 because of her mom. I said that I'd take care of it.
Yep... sometimes my ex still amazes me with her stupid shit. But what surprises me more is the fact that I'm still shocked at the stupid shit my ex pulls.
When we split up, we decided that we'd alternate taking care of the kids' birthday parties. On odd years, I would throw the older kid's party and she'd do the younger one's celebration. On even years, we'd switch. I'm still uneasy doing these parties, if only because she's there, but hey, it's not about me... it's about the kids.
Last weekend we threw the younger kid's party. It's the ex's turn to take care of the older one... and it's a biggie, because the big 'un is turning sweet 16. Last month, my daughter and the ex started talking about the sweet 16 party, and my kid was understandably excited about the milestone birthday.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago. My wife and I found out -- from the kid -- that there would be no sweet 16 party. Apparently, the ex is once again strapped for money and she told the kid that there would be no party as a result.
In order to understand the full implications of this, I should recap...
Roughly a year ago, the ex was pulled over for driving a car with an expired registration. During this stop, the cop discovered that she not only had an expired registration, but she stole the registration sticker from another car (but wasn't smart enough to steal another one when that sticker expired), that she had no insurance, that she was driving with a suspended license, and that there was a warrant out for her arrest.
Her car was impounded as a result of this arrest. She was unable to pay to get it out of impound, so it was sold at a police auction, and she got some heavy fines which she also didn't pay.
A month or two later, she was evicted from her apartment for not paying her rent, and she moved in with some friends. The friends live in a teeny little house built in the 1930's and have two kids of their own. The ex lives in a single room and when the kids stay with her, all three of them are in a single room about the size of your average bedroom.
Because of the living arrangements, my wife and I asked to keep the kids more often. After all, when they're with the ex, they're all three stuck in a single small room. When they're here, they've got their own space, they can still catch the bus to school in the mornings, they've got ready access to their friends, and so forth. In a moment of sanity, the ex agreed to our request. This agreement was all under the table, so there was no change in child support. Yes, my wife and I are the full-time parents, the ex is a weekend mom, and I'm still paying child support for this privilege.
So, to sum it up... the ex has no car payment, no car insurance to buy, no gas to buy, less food to buy, and no rent because she's staying with the friends rent-free, and there's no reduction in her income. She should have more money than she know how to spend.
A couple of months back, she got her license back. This is not because she paid off her fines, but because she petitioned the court, and was approved for a repayment plan. She got a car, but it was given to her. She's now paying for gas, but there's still no car payment, and still no rent. She should still be bring in more money than she has to spend.
She's known about our daughter's sweet 16 for -- well, for 16 years! She's had about ten months to squirrel a little bit away each month for the party. Hell, she should have known approximately how much the party would cost when they made the initial plans for the party. But now, less than a month away from her sweet 16, mom has told our daughter that there will be no party. My wife found out about this two days ago. I talked about it to the kid last night.
I told her that I didn't think she should have to give up her sweet 16 because of her mom. I said that I'd take care of it.
Yep... sometimes my ex still amazes me with her stupid shit. But what surprises me more is the fact that I'm still shocked at the stupid shit my ex pulls.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Reevaluating
I had hoped this election would be different. I somehow knew that in the end it would be more of the same by both candidates... distortions, half-truths and mud-slinging... but I hoped things would be different this time. For a while I was right.
Like most people, I despise where we've gone as a country under George W. Bush's watch. Unlike most, I saw early on, so I've been angry for longer than most Americans. I supported McCain in 2000, and when I witnessed the Republican choices for the 2008 election, I said the only way I'd vote Republican was if he was the Republican choice. I got my wish. Sort of.
When McCain became the nominee, I was no longer automatically drawn to the Democrats. After all, McCain seemed honest, honorable and above the mud-slinging that's so common in politics. That's all changed. McCain has fallen to the level of politicking that has consistently disgusted me by telling half-truths.
It seems that Obama is staying above the fray, and that's bringing me to once again re-evaluate my decision. Maybe I'll end up voting for none of the above.
Like most people, I despise where we've gone as a country under George W. Bush's watch. Unlike most, I saw early on, so I've been angry for longer than most Americans. I supported McCain in 2000, and when I witnessed the Republican choices for the 2008 election, I said the only way I'd vote Republican was if he was the Republican choice. I got my wish. Sort of.
When McCain became the nominee, I was no longer automatically drawn to the Democrats. After all, McCain seemed honest, honorable and above the mud-slinging that's so common in politics. That's all changed. McCain has fallen to the level of politicking that has consistently disgusted me by telling half-truths.
It seems that Obama is staying above the fray, and that's bringing me to once again re-evaluate my decision. Maybe I'll end up voting for none of the above.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Nothing New
As you may have noticed, I haven't written much lately. This is partly because I've been moving my old stuff to my new site. Not only is this process time-consuming, but it also tends to sap me of ideas. Every time I think about writing something, I remember an old post that I recently moved and can't help but think "Man, I already wrote about that."
In addition to that, I've been more focused on just living and enjoying my life, rather than commenting on my observations. I haven't given up on blogging, I'm just in a writing rut.
In addition to that, I've been more focused on just living and enjoying my life, rather than commenting on my observations. I haven't given up on blogging, I'm just in a writing rut.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
