Wow, is there room for a dissenting view? Everyone seems so congratulatory of each other's wit that I wonder if anyone has anything to actually, you know, say about the financial mess that's more than a snarky comment or simply trying to blame one or two people for the whole thing.
When I bought my house my mortgage broker got us a loan for several times what I thought we should have been spending on a house. My ex-wife pushed and pushed to get me to spring for a larger house. They also pushed me to get something other than a thirty-year fixed rate loan. I'm glad I didn't give in on either point, but, you know what? It doesn't make me any smarter than those guys who overextended bad loans to people who couldn't pay them back.
Look, no one person or even group of people are responsible for this mess, unless you count Americans as a whole. The Republicans encourage crooks to push the limits of the law, occasionally too far, to make as much money as they can. Democrats happily wave oversight on agencies that desperately need it so that people with less money can buy houses they can't afford from the previously mentioned crooks. So, who's better? They're both a group of self-serving, bottom-feeders who are more interested in lining their own pockets and saying whatever it takes to get elected, or re-elected, than truly being public servants. And, don't try to tell me that Obama is any better than anyone else. He only seems better right now because we don't know how he'll do in a position of real power. Really, we're just rolling the dice.
Both candidates have given long speeches full of rhetoric about how they're going to fix the economy. If anyone buys what either of them say, they're suckers. The President has virtually no direct control over things that effect the economy. You don't like the way things are economically? Blame your Senators and Congress-people. They're the ones to blame. Can anyone even name them? (Okay, in this crowd, you all probably can, but I bet you had to look some of them up first!)
And, when you're done screaming and shouting about the injustice of it all, go talk to the Japanese. They when through this same thing in the 90's when their bubble burst. They survived and so will we. In fact, maybe it's time we start asking them what they did and emulating it instead of looking for someone to blame.
And, maybe it's time we voted for someone who wasn't either a Democrat or a Republican. There are other choices.
Wow, so glad you were with her at the time to call the ambulance and save her life. (Don't forget to remind her of that the next time you really, really, really need to win a debate of some kind.)
Seriously, I'm just surfacing from getting power after Ike and read this just a few minutes ago. Glad all seems to be well.
Hey, just thought I'd check in here and let everyone know I finally got power, and thus an internet connection, back yesterday around 4:00pm. My office had power Monday, so I've been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest since then. Most of Jersey Village, my area of Houston, should have power now, but if anyone needs anything, hit my blog and leave a comment with contact info!
I'm in Jersey Village, which is right where 290 and Beltway 8 meet. I'll be staying, with the dog and a camera. I have plenty of ammunition, so if I find that I've run low on any other survival supplies, I can "resupply". Also, as long as I have an Internet connection at the house, I'll be blogging and loading pictures to my Flickr account to share via the blog.
I honestly don't expect it to be as bad as the news is making it out to be, but, then I'm a little suspicious of people who use phrases like "if it bleeds, it leads" as training tools. Call me crazy, but, there you have it.
I blogged all through the non-event that was Rita a few years ago, too. I hope to have better pictures this time.
Stephen @#8, yes, O. Henry did write most of his work in prison, in fact. And the pseudonym (ie. O. Henry), was actually the name of a guard. It was his birthday recently and Writer's Almanac had a piece on him.
@13: Schadenjoy, my father told me the same thing, just after I graduated from college and got a job. I wish I'd known that while dealing with projects *in* college!
@15: Albatross, thank you for that Shaw quote! I'm adding it to my sig rotation!!
Ron Henry@#813:
Thank you for the explanation and the links. The Wikipedia recipe had my mouth watering.
Oh, and as to the discussion at hand, I thank God that I'm a hack who's just a blogger, not an actual author, and don't worry about my readers. So far? They seem to be doing just fine, no matter how much I talk about myself. Go figure.
Xopher @ #48:"lemon pickle"
Lemon pickle? Really? Where? How? How much?
I am intrigued by the entire concept of this "lemon pickle" of which you speak.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2007 | 3 |
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