Follow the bouncing blog

Added a new feature that lets you "follow" this and other blogs. I dunno, check it out and let me know if you like it.

$700 billion can buy a lot of apple pies

$700 billion can buy a lot of apple pies. In fact, it could buy over 2,000 McDonald’s apple pies for each and every American today. Thanks CNN, glad we got some perspective on it.

All I can think of is that I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. Our government has fucked up again, pure and simple. I don’t even know where to start. Maybe with a question of how adding a $700 billion government bailout for the private sector is sound free market economics, but ensuring every American citizen can get health care is somehow socialistic. We can’t have it both ways Republicans. Or perhaps that we are providing $700 billion in tax money to the private sector as a loan for people who’ve already shown us they can’t run a damn business or pay the obligations they have. An apropos equivalent would be taking a family that can’t afford their mortgage payments and go ahead and give them more money/ loans to pay off that mortgage, thinking somehow a new loan means new responsibility or ability to pay. If I went to a bank and said I just lost my business because I made bad investment after bad investment and then asked for a loan because, hey, this time I got a good feeling, they’d toss me out on my butt. How is it that seemingly smart, rational people get elected and the minute they cross the Washington, D.C. city limits they turn into morons? (Now I’m looking at both of you Republicans and Democrats.) Could it be special interests or protecting their fat-cat friends and donors? Well, that’s another blog entry for another time.

Perhaps my favorite in this whole mess is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s quote about the terms under which he’d accept the bailout. “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” WTF?!?!?!?

Seriously? Here’s a $700 billion blank check to a guy who 6 months earlier (March 16, 2008) said “our institutions, our banks and investment banks are strong.” He gave a full endorsement that our economy is strong and sound. So are we to believe that in 6 months the entire industry went from great to flat on their face? Not even a crack head with a gambling problem could do that. He’s shown he is either incompetent or dishonest. Either way, Mr. Paulson has shown he doesn’t deserve our trust nor our confidence as Treasury Secretary, be it because he’s incapable or because he’s a liar.

So to sum it up, we’re giving a government bailout loan to institutions that clamor for more free market economics and less government intervention, who have already shown they can’t run a business and we’re going to do it via a person’s oversight who didn’t even see the writing on the wall that the failure was coming, and he won’t have any oversight or have to answer to anyone in how he allocates the $700 billion. It’s like sending a sex addict through a whore house unattended with a fist full of hundred dollar bills that belong to us to pay the mortgage. We’re sending someone we don’t trust, with no oversight or accountability through a maze he’s already shown he can’t handle to do something vitally important.

If you’re not mad then you’re not paying attention folks. Or, perhaps George Bernard Shaw was right when he said, "Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." I think we deserve better. Perhaps I should run for political office. Nah… people wouldn’t vote for me; I make too much sense and that’s clearly not what they want. They prefer polished BS over the cold, hard truth. Besides, given our current polarization there’s no way anyone who is moderate could make it out of a primary race on either side of the isle. What do you think? Seriously, I’d like to see some comments here. America is in trouble and it’s up to every one of us to make a stand and make a difference.

Defensive Driving

So a few weeks ago I got caught going 72mph on highway 75. Seriously, the posted limit is 60, but it’s Texas. More so, it’s Dallas! No one goes the speed limit. The speed limit signs are more of suggestions I thought, general rules of thumb like “watch your step” signs and the such.
To get out of the ticket I chose to take defensive driving. Not only will I have the ticket cleared from my record, but I’ll save $80 a year on my insurance. Whippie, but I guess it’s the best way I can get back at the man this week. So I’ll take my $80 sir!

Now, where to take said defensive driving class? Well, I’m not one for sitting in a classroom for 6 hours straight on a weekend. I don’t own a working VCR so no defensive driving via tape. I think they have DVDs, but I am simply too lazy to go to Blockbuster to find out. So I settle on an on-line course. I figure that way I can drop in and out over my lunch period and at nights and over a week or two get the required hours in. Turns out it was even better. I dropped in between drug induced comas. (yes, prescription because of my surgery.)

I look for two things: something to keep me from offing myself during it; and something cheap. I thought I found this in www. comedydriving.com. Come on, it says comedy right in the name and it’s only $25. Holy cow was I wrong! This has got to be the worst attempt at humor ever. I would have rather watched paint dry or flies procreate. Poorly done voice impersonations plus shitty animation combined with horrible jokes (if you can even call them that; calling police “pigs” seemed to be the most reoccurring) and sprinkle liberally on an already painful topic equals disaster. Seriously, I’m recovering from surgery and am on some great pain killers and I still want to take the cord from the mouse and hang myself. At least they had a continual countdown showing me how many painful minutes remained ahead of me until completion.

I guess the old adage is true: if something seems too good to believe, it probably is. Funny, on-line convenience and cheap was just too good to be real. So my advice for all you looking to erase a ticket or lower your insurance in the state of Texas, AVOID comedydriving.com or risk suicide. Or, just don’t speed. I guess that’s a good option too.

Israeli this and that...

So back to my Israel stories I have been neglecting to pass along.

Here are some tidbits that weren’t long enough in and of themselves for a post, but nonetheless are some good little postings.

One day, when we were in Jerusalem, there was an interesting dose of reality that “hit” us, or rather, our bus. We had been dropped off in the old city and did some walking tour type stuff. It was time to return to the bus and as we approached it, it was clear the glass in the door had been shattered. When David (the bus driver) got off, I asked him what happened. He replied that he had driven around the city to get to the parking area and had passed by the Muslim quarter. Our bus was clearly marked with “Birthright” which confirms it’s a bunch of Jews on board. Well, a couple of Arabs popped out from an alley and started throwing rocks at the bus. The Israeli’s reactions that were with us kind of surprised me. They weren’t surprised. They weren’t really mad. It was complete disgust/ disappointment. For me, after some time to think, I’m not mad. As the guilt trip goes, I’m simply disappointed.

Now onto a good item. I’ve discovered Israeli crack. It’s called Bamba. Bamba is unlike anything I’ve had before. Take cheesy poofs, not Cheetos, they’re crunchy, but the fluffy cheesy poofs. Now instead of a cheese flavor, make it peanut butter flavored. I know, sounds weird. I had my doubts too, but this is seriously the greatest snack food ever. I’m now on a hunt to find it in Dallas.

If you haven't seen my pictures from the trip yet, e-mail me and I'll send you the link.