COMPANY VIDEO
First, I’ve posted a short video of Interstate. It’s not a commercial but a promotional video. The real difference is a commercial is trying to sell you something. We’re just telling you a bit about us. This was shot by a private contractor working for BellSouth/AT&T to attach to our Internet ads for next year. So starting 11-1 when you visit our online ad at the Yellow Pages you’re supposed to get this video. The online quality is a bit low but it’s cool.
Link to YouTube video.
Giving it a high rating would be appreciated if you view it on YouTube.
GAY TREK
Secondly, congratulations to George Takei and Brad Altman who got married today in California where gay couples can now legally wed. A Scottish bagpiper led Takei, 71, and Altman, 54, to the reception on the grounds of the Japanese American National Museum. On the way, the couple, along with their maid of honour and best man (Takei’s former “Star Trek” co-stars Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig) flashed the “live long and prosper” hand sign to photographers and friends.
Live Long and Prosper. Indeed! Congratulations, Sulu! Make it so! Engage! Etcetera. Exactly why are people opposed to this? What a happy couple.
STUPID BUSH ECONOMICS
And who is to blame for this mess that is our economy? I’d like to tell you it’s the Republicans, but mostly it’s the American Public who lets greed and empty promises overrule common sense. Yeah, basically it’s your fault. And you know who you are.
People bought $500,000 houses and didn’t think to question how it was just $799 a month* and wondered when their payments ballooned to $3500? It just means you’re an idiot. That’s nobody’s fault but yours. There are tons of cases like this and 99% of them are the fault of the borrower who thought it made sense and the lenders who fought each other to make high risk loans. Let it all fall out. And it’s starting. Lehman Brothers, bankrupt. Merrill Lynch, sold. Washington Mutual is about to be another casualty by many accounts. And of course let’s not forget Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The government finally has decided to stop bailing everyone out, and it’s about damn time.
Certainly, this specific administration which has its eyes on the wrong goals is at fault for allowing our dollar to become devalued against most major currencies. The C$ moved to par before settling back to $0.92 from $0.56 and the £ went to over $2.04 before settling back to $1.75 from $1.48. That’s a crushing imbalance, all other things being equal.
All that is the fault of a myopic administration. But the destruction of Lehman Brothers? Not their fault.
ROBBER OIL BARONS
The price of oil has raised the cost of everything owing to the spectacular failure of the Bush administration’s energy policies — and make no mistake this is their single biggest error: selling our country’s soul to foreign interests in even bigger ways than before. The Saudis are NOT our friends, and they OWN us. They’re using our money to buy our country.
The price of oil has plummeted 5% in one day — as of 2pm today, so it may have adjusted — on weaker economic news plus reports that Ike wasn’t what they expected (no offense, Texas, but you got off easy). Oil is expected to close below $100 for the first time since early March.
However gas at the pump remains nearly 70 cents a gallon higher than that same week. So who’s getting the extra 70 cents a gallon? EXACTLY. Check doe.gov if you don’t believe this.
SUMMARY
And of course every one of you is earning LESS in real dollars than you were four years ago. The fact that the market dropped 500 points is a bit much.
In the Washington Post, David Ignatius (A McCain fan) writes: McCain made the most important command decision of his life when he chose Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee. Two weeks later, it is still puzzling that he selected a person who, for all her admirable qualities, is not prepared by experience or interest to be commander in chief.
Because of Palin’s dynamism and political appeal, she’s being hailed as an “inspired choice,” to use President Bush’s words. And she certainly has energized the Republican ticket: The polls show it, as do the enthusiastic crowds. And if a politician’s primary responsibility is to get elected, this may indeed have been a sublime choice. But was it the right one? And what does it tell us about McCain?“
One party is talking about the economy and fixing it. One of them is talking about gay marriage. Which is a bigger threat to our nation? Our dependence on oil and the failed economic policies of a myopic administration interested only in preserving the money in its pockets? Or perhaps Gay Marriage.
That being said, if you’re still voting for McCain and Palin (from an Oil State) in this election, you’re deluded. The president is supposed to represent our nation as a whole and do what’s best for us as a group (whether or not we agree). Ronald Reagan — whom I am not a fan of — was the last Republican to manage that. McCain is not Ronald Reagan by anyone’s measure.
And to end on a fun note, with thanks to Maury, here’s a great Barack Obama set to the tune of Les Misérables:
*Math: 799 x 12 months x 30 years = $287,640 without interest. Did you think the bank was giving you the rest of the money and not charging you interest? That is VERY simple math. If you can’t handle that, go move in with your parents. I have no sympathy for you.