The Oscars
The Oscars, at least to me, used to be exciting, I normally would make an effort to see the movies nominated, the pop some corn, and watch with bated breath to see if my picks won. Later it would be Oscar parties. We would get dressed up, have a fake red carpet, and drink shots of whiskey. A shot was drunk anytime someone mentioned something...a political statement, god, told their kids to go to bed, over thanked (meaning they talked over the music).
In later years, the Oscar show has taken on a new meaning to me, no longer do I make an effort to see a movie just because it was nominated but instead wait for the show, and see the clips. Then I would start a list of movies that might look interesting. If a film is nominated for several different categories, you can end up seeing several different clips, giving you a better idea about the film than the standard movie trailer. However not this year. This year instead they had other actors talk about it seemed whatever they damn well pleased. Some talked of past movies, some of the present, some seem to ramble, and while I'm sure it was nice to individually recognize them; it just didn't help me. I hadn't seen the movies and they talked as though everyone had seen them. To me, it should be about the current movie their nominated for, not all the great movies they starred in, in the past, some which they had won for, or not.
My other huge complaint was when they showed the people that had passed on...I didn't need to see the person singing during that...hearing her voice was enough, I wanted to see better who they were, what they did and why they were being mentioned. Instead I saw a smallish picture, and nothing more...it was sad and honestly insulting.
So in my opinion it's all official, Hollywood is in a serious recession, they couldn't afford clips of the movies nominated and I hated it. If it continues like this I suspect a tradition will slowly die, much like the Miss America Pageant. As for the big winner Slumdog Millionaire, I still have no clue what it's about. Pity, I thought about renting it, but probably won't bother now.
Some States Do the Darnedest Things
While the State of Oregon contemplates closing schools to cover budget deficits for the currant school year, the state legislators in all their wisdom decide now might be a good time to raise the beer tax. Now, I know before you groan and say I don't care about beer, just listen to this...say you make something and your business is taxed for every 1000 you make you pay three dollars. What would happen if your state government told you instead of paying 3 bucks you'll now have to pay $59.60. Seriously, how would that impact your life? Now it is true different states charge different amounts, and close border states charge anywhere from 3-7 bucks per barrel of beer made, this jump Oregon is currently discussing puts them at the top, above Alaska and Alabama for the highest beer tax in the country.
Just another beer fact, Portland Oregon has the most breweries in the country and the statewide beer industry employs around 5300 people. This is all despite the fact there is a world wide grain and hop shortage. Nothing like kicking an industry in really hard economic times while they're already down.
In Other News
Last weekend Pissboy as part of a school project was to bring home a baby. Not a real one but one of these...He did but it didn't work right. The caregiver is supposed to wear a wrist strap, with some sort of device on it that sends a signal to the baby when it cries. The idea being that it knows it's caregiver is there and taking care of it. Otherwise it just cries, then stops. Then cries again. This can continue until it registers 12 hours of neglect (failing to do anything) and then it shuts down.
As luck would have it Pissboy's baby had the wrong wrist strap, so it never worked. 12 hours later it shut off, I guess others weren't so lucky, their babies didn't shut down after 12 hours and continued crying all weekend.
We're trying it again this weekend. Wish us luck.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Friday, November 07, 2008
I Must Be Missing Something
Flashbacks of the Great Potato-Potatoe Debate
Yesterday I settled down to watch TV, I saw a blurb about McCain's people saying that Sarah Palin, who I am no real fan of to begin with, was more than just a little problematic. Aside from refusing to sit down with staff before the Katie Couric, she also had no idea that Africa is continent, if South Africa is it's own country or a state in the United States of Africa. She went way over budget on her wardrobe (I giggled at that one--it sucks to be a woman) She yelled and screamed, throwing stuff at staffers, had no idea about NAFTA or what countries were involved. NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGGREMENT, might have provided a clue but I guess not.
Like I said, I'm not a fan of her, but damn. Since so much fuss was made about Obama and the people that he aligned himself with, tenuous or real, what the hell was the McCain campaign thinking by picking her? Didn't she go through a vetting process, or was taking her at her word that she could see Russia enough? Or was she there to be a typical woman and keep her mouth shut, look pretty and smile for the cameras? Suddenly I like Sarah Palin a little bit more--these attacks on her are not only unfair but incredibly stupid of the McCain camp to put them out. It doesn't make them appear too swift in the brain department or were they pandering to people that already said they didn't care for her like me? Either way I'm not buying it. Yes a 150K on clothes to the average person does sound outragous, but you can't wear the same thing all the time. Men can get away with wearing black or a navy blue suit, they change the tie and it's a totally different outfit, if a woman does that she's a slob. You must have more than one outfit. Plus outfits for different times of the month, when she felt fat. Not to mention if you appear in one area, then go to another in the same day....come on...it's like going to multiple parties during the holiday season, you can't keep wearing the same thing. Of course on the other hand, the money spent on her wardrobe might have been put to better use in the McCain camp, like paying for more people to get his message out. Or to put Joe the Plummer on his payrole.
My God I'm Defending Her!
Just like when people would get on Dubya's case for things he had no control over, or no part in, I would find myself defending him. There's enough that he did wrong without having to invent things. The same is true for Palin, who obviously made some errors notably the Katie Couric interview and if she didn't prepare for that, it was a huge mistake. Now, I have lunatic right wing people sending me emails about impeaching Obama because he's not a real US citizen, their claim being he was born in Kenya and not Hawaii and his birth certificate was forged. It just makes my head hurt. He's not even president yet.
Yes, his mother commited this fraud way back in the 1960's just on the off chance he would one day become president and just for fun, lets all agree it was because aliens (the kind from outer space), told her so. I like that story better anyway...it's got that whole Wesley Crusher wonder boy thing going on.
Make it so, Number One.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Yesterday I settled down to watch TV, I saw a blurb about McCain's people saying that Sarah Palin, who I am no real fan of to begin with, was more than just a little problematic. Aside from refusing to sit down with staff before the Katie Couric, she also had no idea that Africa is continent, if South Africa is it's own country or a state in the United States of Africa. She went way over budget on her wardrobe (I giggled at that one--it sucks to be a woman) She yelled and screamed, throwing stuff at staffers, had no idea about NAFTA or what countries were involved. NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGGREMENT, might have provided a clue but I guess not.
Like I said, I'm not a fan of her, but damn. Since so much fuss was made about Obama and the people that he aligned himself with, tenuous or real, what the hell was the McCain campaign thinking by picking her? Didn't she go through a vetting process, or was taking her at her word that she could see Russia enough? Or was she there to be a typical woman and keep her mouth shut, look pretty and smile for the cameras? Suddenly I like Sarah Palin a little bit more--these attacks on her are not only unfair but incredibly stupid of the McCain camp to put them out. It doesn't make them appear too swift in the brain department or were they pandering to people that already said they didn't care for her like me? Either way I'm not buying it. Yes a 150K on clothes to the average person does sound outragous, but you can't wear the same thing all the time. Men can get away with wearing black or a navy blue suit, they change the tie and it's a totally different outfit, if a woman does that she's a slob. You must have more than one outfit. Plus outfits for different times of the month, when she felt fat. Not to mention if you appear in one area, then go to another in the same day....come on...it's like going to multiple parties during the holiday season, you can't keep wearing the same thing. Of course on the other hand, the money spent on her wardrobe might have been put to better use in the McCain camp, like paying for more people to get his message out. Or to put Joe the Plummer on his payrole.
My God I'm Defending Her!
Just like when people would get on Dubya's case for things he had no control over, or no part in, I would find myself defending him. There's enough that he did wrong without having to invent things. The same is true for Palin, who obviously made some errors notably the Katie Couric interview and if she didn't prepare for that, it was a huge mistake. Now, I have lunatic right wing people sending me emails about impeaching Obama because he's not a real US citizen, their claim being he was born in Kenya and not Hawaii and his birth certificate was forged. It just makes my head hurt. He's not even president yet.
Yes, his mother commited this fraud way back in the 1960's just on the off chance he would one day become president and just for fun, lets all agree it was because aliens (the kind from outer space), told her so. I like that story better anyway...it's got that whole Wesley Crusher wonder boy thing going on.Make it so, Number One.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Twilight Zone
The Bradley Effect
The past few days I've been hearing much about the Bradley effect in relation to the election next month. It refers to Tom Bradley who was mayor of Los Angeles, during his bid for being Governor of California, was (this is a little before I became politically aware) ahead in the polls over the republican candidate George Deukmajian, however, Deukmajian won the election. It was believed at the time that race was the issue, people would say they would vote for Bradley during the polls, but secretly knew they had no intention of doing so.
What About the Colin Powell Effect?
While Republicans are downplaying this by mentioning all the people that are endorsing McCain, I think it's quite a pin from the Pope for Obama. I do see some undecided people that are against Dubya, might be swayed on this issue. That said I don't think its going to be a huge help either. Maybe as much as Palin appearing on SNL.
What About Socialism?
I guess the catch-phrase of this election is the redistribution of wealth statements made by Obama and everyone is hanging on to this. I'm sorry but ALL taxes are redistribution of wealth. PERIOD. That said, what is rather socialist about Obama is the health care issue but is the media mentioning this? NO. I hear these so called conservative nitwits on the radio and they keep missing the point they're so focused on few percentage point tax increase on people making more than 250K that they are neglecting the real issues. Of couse these are the same people that continually used Obama's middle name. So what can you expect? His health care plan is going to cost us MILLIONS of dollars and I just don't see how he will be able to pay for it.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
The past few days I've been hearing much about the Bradley effect in relation to the election next month. It refers to Tom Bradley who was mayor of Los Angeles, during his bid for being Governor of California, was (this is a little before I became politically aware) ahead in the polls over the republican candidate George Deukmajian, however, Deukmajian won the election. It was believed at the time that race was the issue, people would say they would vote for Bradley during the polls, but secretly knew they had no intention of doing so.
As I recall Deukmagian wasn't a horrible Governor, so I can't really make a statement either way. However with the currant media buzz surrounding this issue, it seems the media is implying that if Obama loses the election it will be not because the majority of Americans believe his plans for our future aren't better, but instead because we are all really racists. I find it all rather disturbing. And it seems that will do nothing but create more tension in this country if McCain wins the election. Maybe I'm wrong about that.
What About the Colin Powell Effect?
While Republicans are downplaying this by mentioning all the people that are endorsing McCain, I think it's quite a pin from the Pope for Obama. I do see some undecided people that are against Dubya, might be swayed on this issue. That said I don't think its going to be a huge help either. Maybe as much as Palin appearing on SNL.
What About Socialism?
I guess the catch-phrase of this election is the redistribution of wealth statements made by Obama and everyone is hanging on to this. I'm sorry but ALL taxes are redistribution of wealth. PERIOD. That said, what is rather socialist about Obama is the health care issue but is the media mentioning this? NO. I hear these so called conservative nitwits on the radio and they keep missing the point they're so focused on few percentage point tax increase on people making more than 250K that they are neglecting the real issues. Of couse these are the same people that continually used Obama's middle name. So what can you expect? His health care plan is going to cost us MILLIONS of dollars and I just don't see how he will be able to pay for it.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Thursday, October 16, 2008
While the Country was Distracted
As the Stomach Turns
Since I've been so preoccupied lately with my financial health and well being I've realized I've missed quite a bit of celebrity gossip. Like Madonna and her kept man, er ah, director husband are divorcing. Nancy Reagan was hospitalized after breaking her pelvis, which forgive me but she's so frail looking (and has looked that way for decades) I'm surprised she didn't break in half. Dick Chaney was in and out of the hospital also yesterday for his atrial fib.
The big shocker though to me was this little article about Ryan O'Neal and his son Redmond, who is also the son of Farrah Fawcett, were arrested for possession of meth. I always knew Ryan, Tatum, and the whole O'Neal clan are just train wrecks but I never imagined Meth, hell I was surprised to read he was still alive.
It's All Over
At least the debates are, the final debate between McCain and Obama was last night, and I don't think there was any "winners" however that said, I think both candidates did a better job than the last debate. Both sides said some things that I found rather humorous, like when McCain said that Obama has spent more on his political ads than any other candidate in history. Why did I find this funny? Because to me, it's a big duh...no kidding. Airtime isn't free, they pay to have the commercials made, they pay money to air them. I'm sure they cost more now than they did 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, or 28 years ago. It's kind of a no brainer and if McCain hasn't raised enough money to pay for more ads, tough luck. Half the time he sounded a bit whiney about this issue, as though he expected Obama to apologize for having more funds.
McCain did score some points by pointing out he's not Dubya, but his plan is very much like a Dubya plan, though it has been tweeked. He did finally broach the topic of William Ayers, but I think it was too little too late for that. Obama said what I expected regarding Ayers. McCain brought up ACORN, but I don't see how Obama is responsible for the actions of that group. This is a group that paid people based on how many they registered to vote and it's not the first election this has happened during, it happened in 2000 and 2004. Yes the numbers are incredibly high this year, but isn't that more of an economical issue? If people weren't feeling so desperate for money, the incentive might not have been so great to lie. Again this already been covered to the hilt by the media and has nothing to do what people care about, their money, their jobs, their very way of life.
McCain said something else that I think he might have bit his tongue afterward, when talking about the bloated federal goverment, he said that in the past 8 years the goverment has expanded, and the democrats have been in control 2 of those years. That made me shake my head, and yell....what??????? Does that mean the republican party is solely responisble for the 6 years that preceeded that? Interesting. I don't understand what point he was trying to make because I don't think he really meant to say it like that. I was surprised Obama didn't jump on that later on, but again, maybe Obama is for bigger goverment so he didn't care.
I would have liked to see Obama defend the three million (the number keeps changing), to purchase an "overhead projector" for a Planetarium (a dreaded earmark). This brings up an image of that antiquated piece of equipment used in schools but that's not what it was. It was in fact a "smart board" which is cutting edge technology. If you want children to become more interested in science then why put in something where they can touch a "planet" and learn all about it. A computer generates images on the wall that children can touch and learn more about what they see. It's an amazing learning tool that eventually will make its way into every classroom in the country. Then again, maybe it's better Obama didn't say anything because it's likely McCain wouldn't have understood that new fangled stuff, since the man can't use a computer or even understand how to send an email. Of course it's entirely possible that Obama doesn't understand it much either.
On Abortion, neither did really well, but on health care Obama really poked holes in McCains so called plan to give everyone a 5000 dollar tax credit so they can buy their own health care. And McCain really looked like he was just taking up space. I don't think McCain understands what a crisis the health care industry is in, probably because his health care is great. Especially with the pre-existing condition clause so many families face daily. McCain was so focused on picking apart Obama's health care plan, he lost focus on his plan and nor did he refute the fact that he'll tax the money employers spend on their employees health care. I don't know if it's true or not, but he didn't say it wasn't. That could force employers to stop offering health care to their employees and force more people to go without.
On the general economy both candidates failed miserably and I don't think either of them understand or comprehend how bad it is or what to do to fix things.
On education, McCain said they should spend money to find out what causes Autism. Now as a mom of an autistic child, you'd think I'd be jumping up and down but honestly, I would like to see No Child Left Behind fixed so that schools are left holding the bill for things they can't afford to provide and more money spent on special education. Finding out what causes Autism is like finding out what causes cancer or multiple sclerosis, or MD and I think it should be left to the private sector, spend the government funds on ways to educate these children so the government can really say that no child is left behind. Obama brought up NCLB, but I don't think he was strong enough.
Enviromental issues Obama did well but I would have liked to have seen him spell it out even simpler. We consume 20 million barrels of oil a day, more than half of which are imported from other countries, primarily Saudi Arabia. There is enough oil in the US, including areas of North Dakota, off shore, and Alaska (if we had access to it today) to sustain us for roughly 10 years at our currant rate of consumption. Then what? That said I do have to take McCain at his word that he would invest in other forms in energy.
A final point about Joe Plumber
Here is the complete context of the Plumber verses Obama, so you can decide for yourself. I had to weed through literally 50 different youtube posts to find one that didn't show the "Fox News commentary." Or Joe's opinion of Obama's Socialist view and if he believed that he had the opportunity to say it to his face instead of claiming it in his 15 minutes of fame to Neil Cavuto on Fox News. Unfortunately thanks to McCain, his 15 minute will probably last longer.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Since I've been so preoccupied lately with my financial health and well being I've realized I've missed quite a bit of celebrity gossip. Like Madonna and her kept man, er ah, director husband are divorcing. Nancy Reagan was hospitalized after breaking her pelvis, which forgive me but she's so frail looking (and has looked that way for decades) I'm surprised she didn't break in half. Dick Chaney was in and out of the hospital also yesterday for his atrial fib.
The big shocker though to me was this little article about Ryan O'Neal and his son Redmond, who is also the son of Farrah Fawcett, were arrested for possession of meth. I always knew Ryan, Tatum, and the whole O'Neal clan are just train wrecks but I never imagined Meth, hell I was surprised to read he was still alive.
It's All Over
At least the debates are, the final debate between McCain and Obama was last night, and I don't think there was any "winners" however that said, I think both candidates did a better job than the last debate. Both sides said some things that I found rather humorous, like when McCain said that Obama has spent more on his political ads than any other candidate in history. Why did I find this funny? Because to me, it's a big duh...no kidding. Airtime isn't free, they pay to have the commercials made, they pay money to air them. I'm sure they cost more now than they did 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, or 28 years ago. It's kind of a no brainer and if McCain hasn't raised enough money to pay for more ads, tough luck. Half the time he sounded a bit whiney about this issue, as though he expected Obama to apologize for having more funds.
McCain did score some points by pointing out he's not Dubya, but his plan is very much like a Dubya plan, though it has been tweeked. He did finally broach the topic of William Ayers, but I think it was too little too late for that. Obama said what I expected regarding Ayers. McCain brought up ACORN, but I don't see how Obama is responsible for the actions of that group. This is a group that paid people based on how many they registered to vote and it's not the first election this has happened during, it happened in 2000 and 2004. Yes the numbers are incredibly high this year, but isn't that more of an economical issue? If people weren't feeling so desperate for money, the incentive might not have been so great to lie. Again this already been covered to the hilt by the media and has nothing to do what people care about, their money, their jobs, their very way of life.
McCain said something else that I think he might have bit his tongue afterward, when talking about the bloated federal goverment, he said that in the past 8 years the goverment has expanded, and the democrats have been in control 2 of those years. That made me shake my head, and yell....what??????? Does that mean the republican party is solely responisble for the 6 years that preceeded that? Interesting. I don't understand what point he was trying to make because I don't think he really meant to say it like that. I was surprised Obama didn't jump on that later on, but again, maybe Obama is for bigger goverment so he didn't care.
I would have liked to see Obama defend the three million (the number keeps changing), to purchase an "overhead projector" for a Planetarium (a dreaded earmark). This brings up an image of that antiquated piece of equipment used in schools but that's not what it was. It was in fact a "smart board" which is cutting edge technology. If you want children to become more interested in science then why put in something where they can touch a "planet" and learn all about it. A computer generates images on the wall that children can touch and learn more about what they see. It's an amazing learning tool that eventually will make its way into every classroom in the country. Then again, maybe it's better Obama didn't say anything because it's likely McCain wouldn't have understood that new fangled stuff, since the man can't use a computer or even understand how to send an email. Of course it's entirely possible that Obama doesn't understand it much either.
On Abortion, neither did really well, but on health care Obama really poked holes in McCains so called plan to give everyone a 5000 dollar tax credit so they can buy their own health care. And McCain really looked like he was just taking up space. I don't think McCain understands what a crisis the health care industry is in, probably because his health care is great. Especially with the pre-existing condition clause so many families face daily. McCain was so focused on picking apart Obama's health care plan, he lost focus on his plan and nor did he refute the fact that he'll tax the money employers spend on their employees health care. I don't know if it's true or not, but he didn't say it wasn't. That could force employers to stop offering health care to their employees and force more people to go without.
On the general economy both candidates failed miserably and I don't think either of them understand or comprehend how bad it is or what to do to fix things.
On education, McCain said they should spend money to find out what causes Autism. Now as a mom of an autistic child, you'd think I'd be jumping up and down but honestly, I would like to see No Child Left Behind fixed so that schools are left holding the bill for things they can't afford to provide and more money spent on special education. Finding out what causes Autism is like finding out what causes cancer or multiple sclerosis, or MD and I think it should be left to the private sector, spend the government funds on ways to educate these children so the government can really say that no child is left behind. Obama brought up NCLB, but I don't think he was strong enough.
Enviromental issues Obama did well but I would have liked to have seen him spell it out even simpler. We consume 20 million barrels of oil a day, more than half of which are imported from other countries, primarily Saudi Arabia. There is enough oil in the US, including areas of North Dakota, off shore, and Alaska (if we had access to it today) to sustain us for roughly 10 years at our currant rate of consumption. Then what? That said I do have to take McCain at his word that he would invest in other forms in energy.
A final point about Joe Plumber
Here is the complete context of the Plumber verses Obama, so you can decide for yourself. I had to weed through literally 50 different youtube posts to find one that didn't show the "Fox News commentary." Or Joe's opinion of Obama's Socialist view and if he believed that he had the opportunity to say it to his face instead of claiming it in his 15 minutes of fame to Neil Cavuto on Fox News. Unfortunately thanks to McCain, his 15 minute will probably last longer.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Why is it Wednesday
Hey Yaaaa ABBY!
Congrats to my blog buddy AbbyNormal and her beautiful hot and gassy new addition (waaaaay hotter than me)! Who knew something that blows hot air could be that wonderful? Even more so since it's not a politician.
Are Firefighters Always Good Looking?
Why is it that I'm walking through the grocery store, pushing my cart, paying attention to my list, when I look up and see the most gorgeous man standing in front of me. He was tall, at least 6 foot, dark hair with the most dazzling dancing sky blue eyes, I have ever seen. Muscular, dressed in blue, I was awestruck. So struck, I couldn't help myself but to stare at him, until I pushed my cart into a display sending everything flying.
My mind screamed, what do I do....what do I do! Do I run away and leave the mess, or clumsily pick up the stuff I knocked over. Thankfully a store employee came to my rescue and started picking up the stuff for me, saving me the further embarrassment, and allowing me a quick exit. I avoided further collisions, well until I was in the check out line, and spied him in the next aisle over, bending over. Oh My God. Okay, I said that out loud twice, the first after seeing him, the second, when I bumped my cart into the woman in front of me. She gave a look that could have killed, but then her eyes followed my gaze just as he was righting himself. Her eyebrow raised and she started fanning herself with her check book.
He looked at us and smiled; he's probably used to it, and for that moment I doubt either of us felt frumpy. It must be a rule that all firefighters must be good looking, because it doesn't matter where I go, where I live, or where I visit, it seems they always are.
When I got home, I looked around pondering if I could somehow set my house on fire, just to see him again. I decided that probably wasn't a good idea.
Are School Meetings Always Stressful?
In a word probably, even if it's only been three weeks since the last one, I find myself preoccupied with what has gone wrong, or if another shoe will drop. I have to keep reminding myself that it's still early in the year.
Debating the Debates
Why can't we just watch the debates then move on? Or rather why must we have endless debate about who won, who lost, and why. Both sides baring their ideas, showing soundbites that bolster their argument and for what purpose? There is nothing else for them to say. Sure they could continue to give talking points about why you don't need to pull your money out of the bank, or why it's going to take so long for the economy to recover. They could talk about the Iraq war, or ponder where Bin Laden is. But they don't want to cover any real news, they just want to know which candidate might have answered the question about "what they don't know" the best.
Finally Why Is It...
I feel a migraine coming two days before it actually hits? It's really annoying but thankfully they don't come that often. My head is still aching and probably will until tomorrow.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Friday, October 03, 2008
How Odd
I know I said
I wasn't going to watch the VP debates but I did see some of it. I do think Palin did okay but were there teleprompters used? She seemed to be looking down a lot, like she was reading a script. Biden did too but it wasn't nearly as obvious.
My only other complaint about Palin, and this was just based on 40 minutes or so I watched, was that she didn't seem to answer some questions. The moderator would ask her a question, then she would start talking about something else like gas prices.
I didn't see or note that Biden did this, though it's possible since I didn't watch the whole thing. I would have liked to have seen Joe Biden chip away at Palin's constant use of the word "Maverack" because while I know McCain isn't the most loved guy in the senate, he does vote with Bush most of the time. So he doesn't like earmarks, but it doesn't stop him for votiing for someone elses earmarks.
This Must Be a Record
At least for me since I rarely post everyday and I'm not sure what's gotten into me, but I'll go with it. Yesterday while I waited for husband to his lazy butt out of bed (okay, truth time, he's not that lazy, he gets home from work at midnight and goes to bed around 2 AM) so I could begin dusting and vacuuming, I decided to troll some other blogs. These blogs were just random, hitting the next blog button, and reading.
It's kind of a crap shoot doing that, since so many blogs are just spam, but some other blogs were just sad. One blog, the writer was upset with her father for having an affair and divorcing her mother. A different blog had about the same written but in reverse which made me ponder if the two were somehow cosmically related. I'm sure stranger things have happened.
Ahhh Choooo!
Another odd thing about today is that my younger son is home from school because he wasn't feeling well this morning. He said his throat was hurting and his head hurt, just like older son a few days earlier. Oh well it's not a bad weekend for being sick, its supposed to rain most of the weekend, we have nothing planned except my husband brewing beer with friend of his.
I have a few things to do around the house, since an outsider (homebrewing friend of hubby's) will be visiting and I don't want him to think that we're all just slobs. Even though, clearly we are. Maybe this will be a good weekend to do some work in my older son's bedroom, and get those shelves put together. Who knows what we'll do as I said a few days ago, excitement just can't be planned. Maybe I'll walk on the wild side and take out the carpet shampooer.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
I rememeber a friend of the family, who served his country in Viet Nam, hearing this song for the first time and he cried. I came across it today and thought I'd share it; the owner of this piece doesn't allow for embedded URL's so you can find it here.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
I wasn't going to watch the VP debates but I did see some of it. I do think Palin did okay but were there teleprompters used? She seemed to be looking down a lot, like she was reading a script. Biden did too but it wasn't nearly as obvious.
My only other complaint about Palin, and this was just based on 40 minutes or so I watched, was that she didn't seem to answer some questions. The moderator would ask her a question, then she would start talking about something else like gas prices.
I didn't see or note that Biden did this, though it's possible since I didn't watch the whole thing. I would have liked to have seen Joe Biden chip away at Palin's constant use of the word "Maverack" because while I know McCain isn't the most loved guy in the senate, he does vote with Bush most of the time. So he doesn't like earmarks, but it doesn't stop him for votiing for someone elses earmarks.
This Must Be a Record
At least for me since I rarely post everyday and I'm not sure what's gotten into me, but I'll go with it. Yesterday while I waited for husband to his lazy butt out of bed (okay, truth time, he's not that lazy, he gets home from work at midnight and goes to bed around 2 AM) so I could begin dusting and vacuuming, I decided to troll some other blogs. These blogs were just random, hitting the next blog button, and reading.
It's kind of a crap shoot doing that, since so many blogs are just spam, but some other blogs were just sad. One blog, the writer was upset with her father for having an affair and divorcing her mother. A different blog had about the same written but in reverse which made me ponder if the two were somehow cosmically related. I'm sure stranger things have happened.
Ahhh Choooo!
Another odd thing about today is that my younger son is home from school because he wasn't feeling well this morning. He said his throat was hurting and his head hurt, just like older son a few days earlier. Oh well it's not a bad weekend for being sick, its supposed to rain most of the weekend, we have nothing planned except my husband brewing beer with friend of his.
I have a few things to do around the house, since an outsider (homebrewing friend of hubby's) will be visiting and I don't want him to think that we're all just slobs. Even though, clearly we are. Maybe this will be a good weekend to do some work in my older son's bedroom, and get those shelves put together. Who knows what we'll do as I said a few days ago, excitement just can't be planned. Maybe I'll walk on the wild side and take out the carpet shampooer.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
I rememeber a friend of the family, who served his country in Viet Nam, hearing this song for the first time and he cried. I came across it today and thought I'd share it; the owner of this piece doesn't allow for embedded URL's so you can find it here.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Monday, September 29, 2008
I Just Can't Take it Anymore
Will Someone, Anyone, Tell Sarah Palin to Shut Up
About her, cough, foreign policy experience. Craps sake she's the governor of Alaska....670,000 people in the whole state. Yes its geographically close to Russia but I must have missed the news flash where she single-handily averted a Russian invasion. I suppose if she were governor of Hawaii (BTW Honolulu's population runs around 900,000 people), we'd have to hear that she had experience because she was governor of the Island in the Pacific, and had experience dealing with Japanese tourists.
I Know I Know
The big news should be about the house not passing the big bill, and yes, as you can imagine I'm about as happy about this as I was about hearing the debate of how the debate went and who won. Both sides (Republican and Democrat) said they had reached an agreement and vote was just going to be a formality. The republicans claim that they were set to vote for it, but decided not to when they heard Nancy Pelosi talk. The Democrats are saying that it's the Republicans playing partisian politics.
Get this people they're both playing a game, and we're the ones that are going to lose. When your FICO score goes down because the bank that holds your credit cards decreases your limit, which means you'll pay more for car insurance, more points on loans, your personal buying power diminishes. You think this is just about a wall street bailout....think again...this is bigger than main street and wall street. Your FICO score is based on your available credit and your ability to pay bills, so if you have a credit card, with a 10K limit, and you owe 1000...your FICO score if you pay your bills on time will be higher than a person who makes more money, has a 30K limit and owes 20K.
Both sides are talking about the "fat cat" CEO's and this is just to protect their salaries...another wake-up call...they've already been FIRED! That doesn't mean the bill wasn't without problems, it was but those were very small, compared to the implication of doing nothing--which is what they're doing. My 401K is gone, but that's okay because I'm not retiring soon but what about the people that are? I think everyone needs to wake up, shake the sleep from their eyes and demand that our government do what they need to do.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
About her, cough, foreign policy experience. Craps sake she's the governor of Alaska....670,000 people in the whole state. Yes its geographically close to Russia but I must have missed the news flash where she single-handily averted a Russian invasion. I suppose if she were governor of Hawaii (BTW Honolulu's population runs around 900,000 people), we'd have to hear that she had experience because she was governor of the Island in the Pacific, and had experience dealing with Japanese tourists.
I Know I Know
The big news should be about the house not passing the big bill, and yes, as you can imagine I'm about as happy about this as I was about hearing the debate of how the debate went and who won. Both sides (Republican and Democrat) said they had reached an agreement and vote was just going to be a formality. The republicans claim that they were set to vote for it, but decided not to when they heard Nancy Pelosi talk. The Democrats are saying that it's the Republicans playing partisian politics.
Get this people they're both playing a game, and we're the ones that are going to lose. When your FICO score goes down because the bank that holds your credit cards decreases your limit, which means you'll pay more for car insurance, more points on loans, your personal buying power diminishes. You think this is just about a wall street bailout....think again...this is bigger than main street and wall street. Your FICO score is based on your available credit and your ability to pay bills, so if you have a credit card, with a 10K limit, and you owe 1000...your FICO score if you pay your bills on time will be higher than a person who makes more money, has a 30K limit and owes 20K.
Both sides are talking about the "fat cat" CEO's and this is just to protect their salaries...another wake-up call...they've already been FIRED! That doesn't mean the bill wasn't without problems, it was but those were very small, compared to the implication of doing nothing--which is what they're doing. My 401K is gone, but that's okay because I'm not retiring soon but what about the people that are? I think everyone needs to wake up, shake the sleep from their eyes and demand that our government do what they need to do.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Friday, September 26, 2008
Question of the Day (Maybe the Month or Year even!)
Are We Capitalists or Socialists?
That is a question that perplexes me and I'm not sure what the answer is anymore, ten years ago I probably could answer that question much quicker. Today, I don't know the answer. Should banks fail (including my bank which I love)? Should the government be bailing out AIG, under the idea that its failure would adversely affect the world economy? As someone that does believe in capitalism I'm finding it difficult to wrap my head around an all out bailout with or without restrictions. Businesses that make poor choices close all the time for example, a restaurant won't thrive even in the best of neighborhoods if the food isn't good or is highly overpriced to what the average person will pay.
If a bank, in the business of lending money, lends money to people they have a good idea won't be able to pay it back (as was the case with most of sub prime mortgages) isn't that a bad business decision? Now I understand that this is a bitter pill to swallow, especially for the thousands of people facing foreclosure and I'm very sorry for them that they might lose their homes. That said, I feel the government's idea of buying those mortgages is a horrible idea for any price.
Breakdown Go Ahead Give it to Me
Lets say someone makes 60K a year or roughly $4600 per month before taxes wants to buy a house, under the old rules they would have to save 20% of the price for a down payment, and pay no more than 1/3 of their monthly income. That means simply put you can afford a house priced around $240,000. Instead with the sub-prime these people were qualifying for a loan for a house double that price, or $480,000. So now that these people have figured out that they can't afford these loans and they don't want to lose their houses the government is trying to work out a deal to buy those bad mortgages from the lenders that issued them. They will work to let the people refinance into a "traditional" loan so they may keep their houses.
So, lets go back to our hypothetical, and lets say that these people can refinance that $480,000 loan. First lets all recognize they put very little or no money down, and have not been paying any principle for the past 4 years so they don't owe $480K. It's more like $520K. Now remember they only make $4600 a month, so where are they going to get the money to pay the new mortgage bill of $3117.66 (that's 30y fixed rate of 6% interest)? A 40 year mortgage wouldn't save them that much about $256 dollars.
So how is this going to help them? Unless they forgive the past four years and offer them a loan at the original $480 at a 40-year rate that is lower than I would pay with excellent credit...they might make it at a little less than half of what they make. However the real question is still unanswered. How is the so-called bailout going to help these people? Short answer is that it won't.
Of Mice and Men
We can't consider ourselves capitalists until the economy goes into the toilet and is being flushed, then say wait a minute, we can't let that happen. We also can afford to bail out everyone, some will fall like WaMu who just late yesterday had their 300 billion dollars in assets seized by the FDIC and sold for 1.9 billion to JP Morgan Chase. Surprisingly I have no problem with this because it was sold, all the depositors money is still there (even those over 100K) and they handed out flyers to customers entering the bank this morning and put a notification on their (Washington Mutual's) website. It won't cost taxpayers anything and the FDIC can return to their jobs of watching other failing banks.
Maybe those people are just lucky they were banking with a bank that the FDIC felt was too big to fail completely and the amount it could have costed taxpayers would have been atronomical.
The bailout is more about global markets so that money can keep moving. If someone owns a business and needs to make an important improvement, they normally need to borrow money to do it. If they can't borrow, the business could fail, employees will lose their jobs. Think of George Bailey and the Building and Loan in holiday classic It's a Wonderful LIfe, when there was a run on the bank, George exclaimed that their money was in 'Sam's house or Dave's house..." you, I'm sure get the idea.
Money has become a virtual thing, no one really sees it anymore but I think that's going to change. Will there be a depression? If there is a bailout probably not but we still can't avoid a deep recession, if there isn't a bailout, then it does become likely.
This all said though, we always want people to be accountable for their actions, right or wrong, and that's not what is going on now. Lenders were irresponsible, the goverment was irresponsible, the brokers and everyone else that lined their pockets instead of doing what was right. If that means things fail, change and hit rock bottom then nothing will change it.
We call a huge downslide on Wallstreet today a Market Correction (meaning stock prices went too high too fast and must come down) maybe what we need is an Economic Correction?
In any event the debates are about to start and I for one am relieved that McCain changed his mind and decided to attend and very interested to see what both have to say.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
That is a question that perplexes me and I'm not sure what the answer is anymore, ten years ago I probably could answer that question much quicker. Today, I don't know the answer. Should banks fail (including my bank which I love)? Should the government be bailing out AIG, under the idea that its failure would adversely affect the world economy? As someone that does believe in capitalism I'm finding it difficult to wrap my head around an all out bailout with or without restrictions. Businesses that make poor choices close all the time for example, a restaurant won't thrive even in the best of neighborhoods if the food isn't good or is highly overpriced to what the average person will pay.
If a bank, in the business of lending money, lends money to people they have a good idea won't be able to pay it back (as was the case with most of sub prime mortgages) isn't that a bad business decision? Now I understand that this is a bitter pill to swallow, especially for the thousands of people facing foreclosure and I'm very sorry for them that they might lose their homes. That said, I feel the government's idea of buying those mortgages is a horrible idea for any price.
Breakdown Go Ahead Give it to Me
Lets say someone makes 60K a year or roughly $4600 per month before taxes wants to buy a house, under the old rules they would have to save 20% of the price for a down payment, and pay no more than 1/3 of their monthly income. That means simply put you can afford a house priced around $240,000. Instead with the sub-prime these people were qualifying for a loan for a house double that price, or $480,000. So now that these people have figured out that they can't afford these loans and they don't want to lose their houses the government is trying to work out a deal to buy those bad mortgages from the lenders that issued them. They will work to let the people refinance into a "traditional" loan so they may keep their houses.
So, lets go back to our hypothetical, and lets say that these people can refinance that $480,000 loan. First lets all recognize they put very little or no money down, and have not been paying any principle for the past 4 years so they don't owe $480K. It's more like $520K. Now remember they only make $4600 a month, so where are they going to get the money to pay the new mortgage bill of $3117.66 (that's 30y fixed rate of 6% interest)? A 40 year mortgage wouldn't save them that much about $256 dollars.
So how is this going to help them? Unless they forgive the past four years and offer them a loan at the original $480 at a 40-year rate that is lower than I would pay with excellent credit...they might make it at a little less than half of what they make. However the real question is still unanswered. How is the so-called bailout going to help these people? Short answer is that it won't.
Of Mice and Men
We can't consider ourselves capitalists until the economy goes into the toilet and is being flushed, then say wait a minute, we can't let that happen. We also can afford to bail out everyone, some will fall like WaMu who just late yesterday had their 300 billion dollars in assets seized by the FDIC and sold for 1.9 billion to JP Morgan Chase. Surprisingly I have no problem with this because it was sold, all the depositors money is still there (even those over 100K) and they handed out flyers to customers entering the bank this morning and put a notification on their (Washington Mutual's) website. It won't cost taxpayers anything and the FDIC can return to their jobs of watching other failing banks.
Maybe those people are just lucky they were banking with a bank that the FDIC felt was too big to fail completely and the amount it could have costed taxpayers would have been atronomical.
The bailout is more about global markets so that money can keep moving. If someone owns a business and needs to make an important improvement, they normally need to borrow money to do it. If they can't borrow, the business could fail, employees will lose their jobs. Think of George Bailey and the Building and Loan in holiday classic It's a Wonderful LIfe, when there was a run on the bank, George exclaimed that their money was in 'Sam's house or Dave's house..." you, I'm sure get the idea.
Money has become a virtual thing, no one really sees it anymore but I think that's going to change. Will there be a depression? If there is a bailout probably not but we still can't avoid a deep recession, if there isn't a bailout, then it does become likely.
This all said though, we always want people to be accountable for their actions, right or wrong, and that's not what is going on now. Lenders were irresponsible, the goverment was irresponsible, the brokers and everyone else that lined their pockets instead of doing what was right. If that means things fail, change and hit rock bottom then nothing will change it.
We call a huge downslide on Wallstreet today a Market Correction (meaning stock prices went too high too fast and must come down) maybe what we need is an Economic Correction?
In any event the debates are about to start and I for one am relieved that McCain changed his mind and decided to attend and very interested to see what both have to say.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Biggest Mistake
What is He Thinking
I heard on the news yesterday that McCain is canceling the debate Friday because of the economy being in, well the shitter. While the notion is admirable that he wants to return to the senate to do the work that needs doing; he also needs to remember that he's running for President not the senate. What a huge missed opportunity to debate Obama and explain why his plan is better or where the failings lie and what he would have done to change it, or stop it from happening all together.
On a very serious note do we want a President that won't discuss with the American people what he feels needs to be accomplished. I understand that speeches and debates are two different things however both provide a venue to speak ones mind. The latter provides an opportunity to ask follow-up questions and critique what they would do differently.
More to come on financial crisis from me maybe tomorrow about I feel this bailout isn't going to be all that helpful.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
I heard on the news yesterday that McCain is canceling the debate Friday because of the economy being in, well the shitter. While the notion is admirable that he wants to return to the senate to do the work that needs doing; he also needs to remember that he's running for President not the senate. What a huge missed opportunity to debate Obama and explain why his plan is better or where the failings lie and what he would have done to change it, or stop it from happening all together.
On a very serious note do we want a President that won't discuss with the American people what he feels needs to be accomplished. I understand that speeches and debates are two different things however both provide a venue to speak ones mind. The latter provides an opportunity to ask follow-up questions and critique what they would do differently.
More to come on financial crisis from me maybe tomorrow about I feel this bailout isn't going to be all that helpful.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
This Post Has No Title
Wacky Wednesday
I'm not sure what to call this post because it's going to seem like a hodge-podge. The kids are officially back in school now, and life seems to truck along until I turned on the TV and see the images of planes crashing into the world trade center and realize it's almost September 11.
Of course this means not only am I stuck with all matters political because of the election, but on all my other channel haunts (History, Discovery Channels, etc), because of the endless shows about 9-11 conspiracy and day. I still can't bring myself to watch movies made about that day, which were on all through the weekend.
So, I Watched
Both the Democratic convention and Republican convention and it needs to be said that anyone undecided shouldn't bother watching ANY convention because they're all just preaching to their choirs. That said I found much more bashing with little substance from the republicans and that really surprised me. They must have mentioned throughout the week Obama's name a MILLION times, always too the appropriate "USA" or Boo's or Cheers…But what they didn't say was more important. Aside from drilling here and now, they offered NO real plan for the future. They were too busy discussing what is wrong with other side.I also don't understand why his running mate is such a "superstar" I mean she's been governor since '06 and was a mayor of a small Alaskan town before that. The whole Alaskan population is only 670,000! Compare that to Los Angeles, where you have 9 MILLION people living. I'm not that impressed. She hasn't held a public office long enough to know if her "changes" are good or bad for the state. But the republicans are insistent that she is more qualified for office because she's run a state Government as opposed to Obama who has not. Let's not forget that McCain is the man actually running for president and he's been a senator for a 25 years, and has NEVER been a governor, mayor or anything else. Well, except a POW, and military guy and that isn't exactly the same as running a state.
I did watch Senator Edward Kennedy speak, and I have to say first off it was nice seeing him considering the news media have him on his deathbed. Aside from that, I really enjoyed what he had to say. He didn't bash McCain but spoke about the future and what all Americans should do. I loved the idea of young people in public service, and enjoyed someone else asking what has happened to the American "can do" attitude using the space program as example.
Obama's speech was very good, and I'm glad he did say more about what we need to do to fix our economy, though I don't agree with everything he said.
The republican convention was rather overshadowed by the hurricane, but still interesting. I caught a snippet of the first lady talking but it seemed to be more Obama bashing than substance, as did Palin later in the week. McCain's speech was dry, and frankly too long and to me lacked substance. It also made my skin crawl when he added an R to the word Washington…which was roughly half the time.
As I said when I started this segment, the conventions shouldn't be a platform for anyone undecided to make the choice of who to vote for. It's nothing but a giant pep rally that the media pays way too much attention to.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Hi--
Whimsical Ranter not available right now because she's busy watching the Democratic Convention. At the tone please leave her a message and she'll get back to you.
Beeeeeeeep!
Beeeeeeeep!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Random Musings on a Tuesday Evening
More Questions Than Answers
I'm an answer person, the person everyone asks questions and I seem to know what to say but lately I'm at a loss. Gas prices are out of control, yet the oil companies are registering record…what's it called...Oh yeah profits. I wonder if the oil companies feel awkward explaining this? I know their shareholders are happy but I'm not a shareholder, I'm pissed off. I don't give a crap what they put their profits into; it's still a profit. That means they made more money than they put out, right? So they're making huge profits and they're trying to justify it by saying that they're reinvesting it.
I'd like to know what they're investing it in because I know damn well it's not on technology that would put them out of business.
In the spirit of trying to save money a friend brought this to my attention but hasn't given me permission to link to her blog so I'll just direct you to the main website.
Aren't we all clipping coupons anyway? I will admit I haven't joined, not sure why except I'm a skeptic and a little pissed off I didn't think of this first. I'm not thrilled with the choice of stores in my area, in fact there is only four, two aren't grocery stores and one grocery store I refuse to shop at—which leaves me with only one grocery store and it's a store I prefer not to shop at. I don't care if green beans are a dollar a pound if they all look like garbage—like they do at this particular store. I also don’t buy a lot of processed foods, so a coupon for Mac and Cheese isn't going to cut it. All that said maybe someone else can use this information…and who knows if prices get higher, I might just join.
It's Almost Over
Our election ballots came in the mail today and Husband's was thick while mine was a paltry single page with what I believe was the word loser scribed in the barcode. I filled out my nonpartisan (cough, loser) ballot and already popped a stamp on it and mailed it back with warning label "do not open until election day," upside down, just to annoy. I know I'm like that but at least now when the calls start coming from Hillary and Obama I can just refer to them to my husband. Well that's opposed to just hanging up saying we've already voted, because he hasn't yet. He loves talking to people on the phone anyway, well not really but whatever. The point is it's almost over and it's about time, really this has to be the longest election in history. I don’t think the elections a hundred years ago when they campaigned by train were this long.
It looks like Obama took South Carolina, and Hillary as expected took Indiana no surprise there but I still don't see how she can win. Unless those super delegates do something weird, which I guess they could but I would think it could just piss off democrats. Well, I guess no matter what happens half the democrats are going to be pissed. McCain better start courting them now, pissed off Hillary voters; seriously if I were McCain I'd start strategizing how to get them because they'll be his key to win. I do believe like Hillary Clinton, the election will be his to lose, meaning he can win it, if he doesn't do or say anything stupid. Should be interesting.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
I'm an answer person, the person everyone asks questions and I seem to know what to say but lately I'm at a loss. Gas prices are out of control, yet the oil companies are registering record…what's it called...Oh yeah profits. I wonder if the oil companies feel awkward explaining this? I know their shareholders are happy but I'm not a shareholder, I'm pissed off. I don't give a crap what they put their profits into; it's still a profit. That means they made more money than they put out, right? So they're making huge profits and they're trying to justify it by saying that they're reinvesting it.
I'd like to know what they're investing it in because I know damn well it's not on technology that would put them out of business.
In the spirit of trying to save money a friend brought this to my attention but hasn't given me permission to link to her blog so I'll just direct you to the main website.
Aren't we all clipping coupons anyway? I will admit I haven't joined, not sure why except I'm a skeptic and a little pissed off I didn't think of this first. I'm not thrilled with the choice of stores in my area, in fact there is only four, two aren't grocery stores and one grocery store I refuse to shop at—which leaves me with only one grocery store and it's a store I prefer not to shop at. I don't care if green beans are a dollar a pound if they all look like garbage—like they do at this particular store. I also don’t buy a lot of processed foods, so a coupon for Mac and Cheese isn't going to cut it. All that said maybe someone else can use this information…and who knows if prices get higher, I might just join.
It's Almost Over
Our election ballots came in the mail today and Husband's was thick while mine was a paltry single page with what I believe was the word loser scribed in the barcode. I filled out my nonpartisan (cough, loser) ballot and already popped a stamp on it and mailed it back with warning label "do not open until election day," upside down, just to annoy. I know I'm like that but at least now when the calls start coming from Hillary and Obama I can just refer to them to my husband. Well that's opposed to just hanging up saying we've already voted, because he hasn't yet. He loves talking to people on the phone anyway, well not really but whatever. The point is it's almost over and it's about time, really this has to be the longest election in history. I don’t think the elections a hundred years ago when they campaigned by train were this long.
It looks like Obama took South Carolina, and Hillary as expected took Indiana no surprise there but I still don't see how she can win. Unless those super delegates do something weird, which I guess they could but I would think it could just piss off democrats. Well, I guess no matter what happens half the democrats are going to be pissed. McCain better start courting them now, pissed off Hillary voters; seriously if I were McCain I'd start strategizing how to get them because they'll be his key to win. I do believe like Hillary Clinton, the election will be his to lose, meaning he can win it, if he doesn't do or say anything stupid. Should be interesting.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Monday, May 05, 2008
Can I Get a Little Cheese to with this Whine?
Is it Any Wonder?
Okay, I understand gas prices are out of control and that is making food prices to rise but my god this is getting ridiculous. I feel like I'm being gouged now. It's getting to the point where I won't be buying anything except for what is absolutely needed. No fun food, like chips, cheese puffs, and other crap, which I know, kids or adults don't need to survive but that’s only because the general cost of fruit and vegetables has doubled in some areas. Yet I can still get (if I wanted to) 4 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for a dollar. Is it any wonder Americans are getting fatter?
Two Part Irony or Bad Omen
I'm sure everyone heard about †he Kentucky Derby and horse Eight Belles who was put down immediately following the race after breaking both her ankles in a freakish accident. Well, here is the ironic part of this story. Hillary Clinton was encouraging her supporters to "cheer" for Eight Belles, since she was the only female running in the race. I think Ms Clinton felt a certain kinship with the horse.
As most people know Eight Belles did finish the race and came in second. So people that bet on her to come in second won, but in a presidential race coming in second means you lost. The horse she lost against is called Big Brown. Maybe it's an omen for Hillary Clinton to hang up her spurs?
Oh The Pain, the Pain of it All
I'm cutting this short tonight because my back is killing me and I'm thinking I threw something out of alignment trying to close my freaking kitchen window a couple days ago. The damn thing opens fine but NEVER wants to freaking close and I can't get close enough to close it without wrenching my back. Let's hope the pain is only temporary.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
A friend of mine sent this to me and I thought I'd share with all moms out there with more than one boy!
Enjoy!
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Okay, I understand gas prices are out of control and that is making food prices to rise but my god this is getting ridiculous. I feel like I'm being gouged now. It's getting to the point where I won't be buying anything except for what is absolutely needed. No fun food, like chips, cheese puffs, and other crap, which I know, kids or adults don't need to survive but that’s only because the general cost of fruit and vegetables has doubled in some areas. Yet I can still get (if I wanted to) 4 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for a dollar. Is it any wonder Americans are getting fatter?
Two Part Irony or Bad Omen
I'm sure everyone heard about †he Kentucky Derby and horse Eight Belles who was put down immediately following the race after breaking both her ankles in a freakish accident. Well, here is the ironic part of this story. Hillary Clinton was encouraging her supporters to "cheer" for Eight Belles, since she was the only female running in the race. I think Ms Clinton felt a certain kinship with the horse.
As most people know Eight Belles did finish the race and came in second. So people that bet on her to come in second won, but in a presidential race coming in second means you lost. The horse she lost against is called Big Brown. Maybe it's an omen for Hillary Clinton to hang up her spurs?
Oh The Pain, the Pain of it All
I'm cutting this short tonight because my back is killing me and I'm thinking I threw something out of alignment trying to close my freaking kitchen window a couple days ago. The damn thing opens fine but NEVER wants to freaking close and I can't get close enough to close it without wrenching my back. Let's hope the pain is only temporary.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
A friend of mine sent this to me and I thought I'd share with all moms out there with more than one boy!
Enjoy!
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Back in the Saddle
It's Been A While
I know but I'm Finally feeling like my old Ranty self, actually I've been feeling like my old ranty self for a week now, but I had to take my house back first. Not to mention be able to stay up past nine in the evening.
Yes, I've been spending time cleaning, doing laundry and watching a lot of TV. Weird for me because I don't normally do that…clean? No, watch a whole lot of TV.
Tales of Reverend Dumbass
No my dog wasn't made a spiritual advisor, though he likely could be, I'm speaking of Obama's buddy Reverend Wright or Dumbass I as I like to call him these days. I've remained fairly silent on the whole thing mostly because I felt the story was a big nothing or distraction from the real issues. Though I did have serious issues with how a man can say he's been a friend with someone for 20 years and member of his church, and not know about his views.
Then the Rev Dumbass started talking to the media and basically I feel; threw Obama, who I assume he'd want to see elected, under the bus. This made no sense to me at all, I still don't understand it, why talk at all? Why not just keep silent? Obama did the only thing he could and denounced him and it made him look a very tall jackass, since he should have done it a long time ago.
The Media Builds Them Up and Brings Them Down
For months during this LOOOOONG process Obama has clearly been the media darling and perhaps now the tide is shifting to Hilary but I think it's just a little too late. I doubt she will be able to pull enough delegates, short of Obama doing something incredibly asinine.
Did you happen to catch Hillary on Bill O'Reilly? I think she did a marvelous job and it would have been nice to see her do that from the beginning of this election. While I've said in the past that I don't like her, she was far more likeable than she's ever been in the past to me. Also, I did like some of her ideas, with the exception of illegal immigration. Which no candidate is going to anything about.
What Am I Missing?
What is the big deal with all these mostly radio jock (itch) people, using Obama's whole name? Barack Hussein Obama. What is the deal with that? They don’t do the same for Clinton or McCain. I get the whole Islamic thing, but Hussein is actually a common name. Do these same people have an issue with Cassius Clay Jr changing his name to Muhammad Ali? Are we supposed to hate him now because he picked a Muslim name and forget the fact that he changed it decades ago? It's not that they use [the middle name] it but how they say it, like they're talking about Mark David Chapman or Lee Harvey Oswald. It's creepy.
Obama was named that, as far as I know, back in 1961 he didn't just change his middle name recently. Seems odd to me that it's such an issue. Of course these are the same pundants that claim they're not going to vote for McCain because of some his views. Then again maybe that's for the best.
At Long Last
I'm seeing signs of spring. The azaleas are blooming, the lilac is full of flowers, and everything is coming up with weeds. I'd love to say I'll be spending this weekend doing gardening but I'll be too busy…well, we'll just say that I'll be too busy because I despise all gardening. I love the idea of a perfectly manicured garden, but I don’t want to put any effort into having one.
So, Is There Anything Else?
Let me think for a minute. Um no. Over a month since my last real post and I got nothing.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
I know but I'm Finally feeling like my old Ranty self, actually I've been feeling like my old ranty self for a week now, but I had to take my house back first. Not to mention be able to stay up past nine in the evening.
Yes, I've been spending time cleaning, doing laundry and watching a lot of TV. Weird for me because I don't normally do that…clean? No, watch a whole lot of TV.
Tales of Reverend Dumbass
No my dog wasn't made a spiritual advisor, though he likely could be, I'm speaking of Obama's buddy Reverend Wright or Dumbass I as I like to call him these days. I've remained fairly silent on the whole thing mostly because I felt the story was a big nothing or distraction from the real issues. Though I did have serious issues with how a man can say he's been a friend with someone for 20 years and member of his church, and not know about his views.
Then the Rev Dumbass started talking to the media and basically I feel; threw Obama, who I assume he'd want to see elected, under the bus. This made no sense to me at all, I still don't understand it, why talk at all? Why not just keep silent? Obama did the only thing he could and denounced him and it made him look a very tall jackass, since he should have done it a long time ago.
The Media Builds Them Up and Brings Them Down
For months during this LOOOOONG process Obama has clearly been the media darling and perhaps now the tide is shifting to Hilary but I think it's just a little too late. I doubt she will be able to pull enough delegates, short of Obama doing something incredibly asinine.
Did you happen to catch Hillary on Bill O'Reilly? I think she did a marvelous job and it would have been nice to see her do that from the beginning of this election. While I've said in the past that I don't like her, she was far more likeable than she's ever been in the past to me. Also, I did like some of her ideas, with the exception of illegal immigration. Which no candidate is going to anything about.
What Am I Missing?
What is the big deal with all these mostly radio jock (itch) people, using Obama's whole name? Barack Hussein Obama. What is the deal with that? They don’t do the same for Clinton or McCain. I get the whole Islamic thing, but Hussein is actually a common name. Do these same people have an issue with Cassius Clay Jr changing his name to Muhammad Ali? Are we supposed to hate him now because he picked a Muslim name and forget the fact that he changed it decades ago? It's not that they use [the middle name] it but how they say it, like they're talking about Mark David Chapman or Lee Harvey Oswald. It's creepy.
Obama was named that, as far as I know, back in 1961 he didn't just change his middle name recently. Seems odd to me that it's such an issue. Of course these are the same pundants that claim they're not going to vote for McCain because of some his views. Then again maybe that's for the best.
At Long Last
I'm seeing signs of spring. The azaleas are blooming, the lilac is full of flowers, and everything is coming up with weeds. I'd love to say I'll be spending this weekend doing gardening but I'll be too busy…well, we'll just say that I'll be too busy because I despise all gardening. I love the idea of a perfectly manicured garden, but I don’t want to put any effort into having one.
So, Is There Anything Else?
Let me think for a minute. Um no. Over a month since my last real post and I got nothing.
© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Saturday, February 10, 2007
They Should be Ashamed
I'm so angry I'm seeing red over this. Shamelessly lifted from Bumble's blog because I'm too fucking livid to write something about it on my own. Bumble's Bog
Please take the time to review the link and subsequent links and scream at the top your lungs to all government officials, "I'm mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!"
© 2007 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Broken Promises and 2006 Round-up
Sorry
I promised a rant on the Kim family but there's nothing really to rant about now, I still hope the wife sues the state and wins big time. Oregon really fucked up, the road that was supposed to be closed wasn't, and wasn't thoroughly searched from the beginning and no one has a good reason for why. In any event people that don't actually reside in Oregon need to understand something, this state has the most piss-poor signage of any state I've ever visited. Unless you know exactly where you're going chances are you'll end up lost. Freeway signs are posted in obscure locations, but offer no further direction. Many roads are completely unmarked, or have obscure numbers that don't match in anyway to maps. Freeway markers and most exits are posted right BEFORE one must exit. I'm sorry but I don't give a shit about seeing the name of the exit I just missed, but it would be helpful to tell me what is coming.
This is the first problem, the second problem is that most people don't understand the elevation of the mountain passes here, and that even going to the coast, you're likely to see snow anytime during the months between October and April. The Kim family was smart enough to burn tires, and breast-feed the baby and older daughter until help could arrive. It's a shame the husband left the car to do "the guy thing" and try to save his family. Many here blamed him! It's true. How can you blame him? A man died on that same road, years before the Kim tragedy during a freak winter storm, shouldn't someone have known and thought enough to search it thoroughly?
Maybe it's because they were from California but I'm sorry if you have to hire your own rescue crew that's pretty fucking miserable. Don't forget, it was private helicopters that found the wife. Alive. It was also private helicopters that located the body of her husband. Dead.
News Since Then
Oregon did try to redeem themselves by attempting to rescue the hikers lost on Mount Hood. Most people here, despite hearing the optimist story of the teens lost on the mountain for a week, figured it was a lost cause from the beginning. Still, we all sat glued to our televisions when word came that they found one of the hikers. Unfortunately he was likely dead for days before he was found. Of course this also renews for Nanny state-like calls to protect people from being stupid. I'm tired of people whining about this kind of shit, if you go up there you need to protect YOURSELF. Period. If it means paying the fifteen dollars for a locator device and you decide you don't want that well then too fucking bad.
Now, it's likely we'll never know what happened to those three men but what we do know is despite what their families said about them being well prepared the truth was they weren't. Again that was unfortunate. Winter can come very quickly to places like the Cascades and Sierras and most people don't understand that despite how many times they are told the story of the Donner party. Obviously it can still happen today.
2006 went out like a lion; well at least it seemed as much on December 15, when we were slammed with hurricane force winds. Yes, hurricane force winds. Two trees behind our house were completely uprooted, another shattered like glass, and the forth and fifth were felled due to the high 70 mph gusts. Did I mention all the trees were 120 foot Northwest Red Cedars? Oh, I must have left that part out. Needless to say after a sleepless night, the boys were rewarded with a day off and early start to their winter break from school. Courtesy of mom, not the local school district who apparently didn't care that no one was able to sleep or half the staff at my children's school didn't come to work…don't get me started.
Despite the early exit from school the children had fun and I was fairly relaxed since I had finished everything before the kids were off. All the cards were mailed, the packages sent, presents wrapped and house decorated. Christmas came and went without a single picture being taken…god we suck.
By New Years all the decorations were down, except for the ones in front of our house but that's Rainbird's job and he shrugged it off.
Two Double O Seven
We rang in the New Year with a party and I won't go into all the details but lets just say I hate the witch down the street with a passion, especially when I caught her in my bathroom admiring (cough, bullshit, cough) my bathroom curtains. We have two other bathrooms that were empty so there was no logical reason for the witch to be in my bedroom to use the bathroom there. I think she wanted to steal my Battery Operated Boyfriend or "BOB" for short. Next year maybe I'll leave some really strange BDSM type stuff around there.
God On Speed-Dial
Good old Pat Robertson is at it again, he must be having ratings issues or watching too much Jericho because he's made another prediction. Something about major US cities being leveled by a nuclear blast. Anyone else think that he smoked too much peyote? I think someone he knows must have a deal on some bomb shelters or something, it just smacks of the Y2K thing when he was hawking generators and spreading fear that the whole country to grind to a halt, computers would crash, those fancy doors on the Enterprise wouldn't swish, and planes would drop from the skies.
How much of that happened? Um, none. Did his god warn him about 9-11? Um nope. Last year he predicted a tsunami would strike the US coasts, but later back peddled to say it was flooding. I guess when September comes and goes without us getting blown up, he'll say it was because of the brilliant leadership of Dubya.
Can't We All Just Get Along?
I'm sure that's what Dubya thinking now that congress has been handed over to the democrats. Maybe now that his side isn't in control he'll care more about "healing" the country.
© 2007 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved
I promised a rant on the Kim family but there's nothing really to rant about now, I still hope the wife sues the state and wins big time. Oregon really fucked up, the road that was supposed to be closed wasn't, and wasn't thoroughly searched from the beginning and no one has a good reason for why. In any event people that don't actually reside in Oregon need to understand something, this state has the most piss-poor signage of any state I've ever visited. Unless you know exactly where you're going chances are you'll end up lost. Freeway signs are posted in obscure locations, but offer no further direction. Many roads are completely unmarked, or have obscure numbers that don't match in anyway to maps. Freeway markers and most exits are posted right BEFORE one must exit. I'm sorry but I don't give a shit about seeing the name of the exit I just missed, but it would be helpful to tell me what is coming.
This is the first problem, the second problem is that most people don't understand the elevation of the mountain passes here, and that even going to the coast, you're likely to see snow anytime during the months between October and April. The Kim family was smart enough to burn tires, and breast-feed the baby and older daughter until help could arrive. It's a shame the husband left the car to do "the guy thing" and try to save his family. Many here blamed him! It's true. How can you blame him? A man died on that same road, years before the Kim tragedy during a freak winter storm, shouldn't someone have known and thought enough to search it thoroughly?
Maybe it's because they were from California but I'm sorry if you have to hire your own rescue crew that's pretty fucking miserable. Don't forget, it was private helicopters that found the wife. Alive. It was also private helicopters that located the body of her husband. Dead.
News Since Then
Oregon did try to redeem themselves by attempting to rescue the hikers lost on Mount Hood. Most people here, despite hearing the optimist story of the teens lost on the mountain for a week, figured it was a lost cause from the beginning. Still, we all sat glued to our televisions when word came that they found one of the hikers. Unfortunately he was likely dead for days before he was found. Of course this also renews for Nanny state-like calls to protect people from being stupid. I'm tired of people whining about this kind of shit, if you go up there you need to protect YOURSELF. Period. If it means paying the fifteen dollars for a locator device and you decide you don't want that well then too fucking bad.
Now, it's likely we'll never know what happened to those three men but what we do know is despite what their families said about them being well prepared the truth was they weren't. Again that was unfortunate. Winter can come very quickly to places like the Cascades and Sierras and most people don't understand that despite how many times they are told the story of the Donner party. Obviously it can still happen today.
2006 went out like a lion; well at least it seemed as much on December 15, when we were slammed with hurricane force winds. Yes, hurricane force winds. Two trees behind our house were completely uprooted, another shattered like glass, and the forth and fifth were felled due to the high 70 mph gusts. Did I mention all the trees were 120 foot Northwest Red Cedars? Oh, I must have left that part out. Needless to say after a sleepless night, the boys were rewarded with a day off and early start to their winter break from school. Courtesy of mom, not the local school district who apparently didn't care that no one was able to sleep or half the staff at my children's school didn't come to work…don't get me started.
Despite the early exit from school the children had fun and I was fairly relaxed since I had finished everything before the kids were off. All the cards were mailed, the packages sent, presents wrapped and house decorated. Christmas came and went without a single picture being taken…god we suck.
By New Years all the decorations were down, except for the ones in front of our house but that's Rainbird's job and he shrugged it off.
Two Double O Seven
We rang in the New Year with a party and I won't go into all the details but lets just say I hate the witch down the street with a passion, especially when I caught her in my bathroom admiring (cough, bullshit, cough) my bathroom curtains. We have two other bathrooms that were empty so there was no logical reason for the witch to be in my bedroom to use the bathroom there. I think she wanted to steal my Battery Operated Boyfriend or "BOB" for short. Next year maybe I'll leave some really strange BDSM type stuff around there.
God On Speed-Dial
Good old Pat Robertson is at it again, he must be having ratings issues or watching too much Jericho because he's made another prediction. Something about major US cities being leveled by a nuclear blast. Anyone else think that he smoked too much peyote? I think someone he knows must have a deal on some bomb shelters or something, it just smacks of the Y2K thing when he was hawking generators and spreading fear that the whole country to grind to a halt, computers would crash, those fancy doors on the Enterprise wouldn't swish, and planes would drop from the skies.
How much of that happened? Um, none. Did his god warn him about 9-11? Um nope. Last year he predicted a tsunami would strike the US coasts, but later back peddled to say it was flooding. I guess when September comes and goes without us getting blown up, he'll say it was because of the brilliant leadership of Dubya.
Can't We All Just Get Along?
I'm sure that's what Dubya thinking now that congress has been handed over to the democrats. Maybe now that his side isn't in control he'll care more about "healing" the country.
© 2007 Whimsical Ranter
All Rights Reserved