There is trouble in cyberland. Anybody trying to reach their U.S. Representative (apparently concerning the Wall Street bailout) got the following message today, if they even got a message:
“The House of Representatives is currently experiencing an extraordinarily high amount of email traffic. The Write Your Representative function is therefore intermittantly [sic] available. While we realize communicating to your Members of Congress is critical, we suggest attempting to do so at a later time, when demand is not so high. System engineers are working to resolve this issue and we appreciate your patience.”
The people must be mad about something.
September 30th, 2008 | Big Brother, Good Bad Ugly
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PROBLEM:
The U.S. team lost the last three Ryder Cups and the last five of six. It was also without the benefit of the world’s top ranked player, injured Tiger Woods. (The Ryder cup competition is biennial between a team of professional golfers from the United States and from Europe.)
SOLUTION:
As is the custom, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain is a former PGA Tour player. This year the honor went to Paul Azinger. Mr. Azinger decided to work outside the box. He applied a team structure based upon military Special Forces/Navy Seals units. Instead of the usual organization of one large 12-player team, Mr. Azinger utilized three four-player cells. Each cell had players with common personalities or playing styles. The second major modification Mr. Azinger introduced was utilizing a corporate team-building consultant to help assemble the cells and then motivate them.
The United States won the Ryder Cup, played September 19-21. The final points total was 16 1/2 to 11 1/2.
September 30th, 2008 | American Ingenuity, Thrill of Victory
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During the House floor debate today concerning the Wall Street bailout, Aunty Nan had her say. As procedure has it, the debate took place before the voting on the $700,000,000,000 package. Aunty Nan included these tidbits, “… but only a part of the cost of the failed Bush economic policies to our country. Policies that were built on budget recklessness … combined with an anything goes economic policy, have taken us to where we are today … no regulation, no supervision, no discipline.”
The final vote tally was 208 yeas and 225 neas. It lost. The informed rumor is about a dozen Republicans were driven away from supporting the package by the tone of the floor debate. Can’t blame them.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Democrat from Maryland, was interviewed on CNBC this morning before the vote. The esteemed leader had these unifying words, “My own view is the fiscal irresponsibility of this administration and the regulatory neglect has led us to this point. Pointing blame is not the answer now.”
This is embarrassing. Aren’t politicians supposed to have a deft touch?
September 29th, 2008 | Good Bad Ugly, Raw Politics
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Next month I will celebrate my eighth birthday. Many of my brand (Ed. Note: He means breed.), the Papillon, live to about 15 or 16 dog years. So you could say I am middle-aged. Like many in the same predicament, I have been spending some time looking back on my puppyhood.
Some of my best memories as a pup are playing with an older bitch (Ed. Note: That is female in the dogdum.) in the neighborhood where I grew up. Renna was a few years older than me. She was a gigantic white German Shepherd. She never had pups of her own and took me under her paw. She would put my entire puppy head into her mouth. We had fun running around. She was fast, but I was quick. I learned a lot about dealing with other dogs from her. Big dogs don’t scare me. Big dogs respect me. Thank you, Renna.
One other thing, being middle-aged, I am thinking of getting a Porsche. With my tan I will be way cool driving around town with the top down! (Ed. Note: He cannot drive a Porsche, his paws do not reach the pedals. That means somebody would need to chauffeur him around, probably me.)
Thanks for your time, but now I have some rays to catch.
September 27th, 2008 | Canine Culture
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The Presidential Campaign of Barack Obama. Saga Number 24.
During the August 16 Saddlebrook Church forum the leader of the Democrat party, Senator Barack Obama, was asked, “At what point does a baby get human rights?” His response was, “I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.”
At a campaign event in Clearwater, Florida this week the leader of the Democrat party made this statement regarding his staying in Florida during the current Wall Street bailout crisis, “I have been in constant contact with leadership in Congress. I’ve talked with Secretary Paulson just about every day. I spoke to him twice today, indicated to him that I intend to do everything that’s required to be helpful.” A little later in the event, the leader of the Democrat Party said, “You know, what I’m going to do is I’m going to — what I’ve told the leadership in Congress is that, if I can be helpful, then I am prepared to be anywhere, anytime.”
This type of leadership must be what Senator Biden meant when he said, “. . . time to jump in, time to be part of the deal. . .”
September 26th, 2008 | Obama for President
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The BIG Wall Street bailout has been front page, headline news for nearly a week. Finger pointing has reached the highest levels in eons. Wall Street and Washington are using the same playbook. Somebody else caused the crisis. I had nothing to do with it. The Republicans did it. The Democrats did it. The mortgages did it. It’s all Bush’s fault. We need change.
The whole mess is a mess. Not one person in Washington or on Wall Street has taken the least bit of responsibility for THE MESS. That sure builds confidence among Americans on Main Street.
Ah, Main Street. The little people. Flyover country. Angry white men. Soccer moms. The religious right. Dittoheads. We are the folks who are going to pick up the tab, bail out Wall Street, and continue to get ridiculed by the antique media and east and west coast liberals (oops, progressives). Some of these big shots on Wall Street are liberals (oops, progressives). The least these bums could do is thank us and stop making fun of us.
September 24th, 2008 | Big Brother, Dollars & Sense, Good Bad Ugly
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“My colleagues and fellow Americans, we live in amazing and dangerous times. Who would have thought that the lowly mortgage, long regarded as the safest of investments, could bring our financial system to its knees?” [Emphasis added]
That bit of wisdom is from the senior senator from New York, Charles Schumer.
Inanimate objects, mortgage documents, did it!
Not lawmakers in Washington, D.C. Not Wall Street bankers. Not executives at Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Not the liberals of the Carter and Clinton administrations forcing affordable housing lending practices upon community banks. Nope. Mortgages.
Go check your mortgage documents, stuck in a drawer or safety deposit box. Make sure they are not plotting to ruin your real estate investment. If you find they are plotting, turn them in to Senator Schumer.
September 23rd, 2008 | Dollars & Sense, Raw Politics
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The Presidential Campaign of Barack Obama. Saga Number 23.
During his first run for the Illinois Senate Barack Obama campaigned as a voice for the little guy and champion of voter rights. That was a smoke screen. He challenged the signatures on each of his potential Democrat primary rival’s nominating petitions until he eliminated all four of them.
Barack Obama won the Senate seat.
During his first run for the United States Senate Barack Obama’s campaign aided the Chicago Tribune lawsuit to open child custody files from his opponent’s divorce proceedings. The courts ruled they should be opened to the public. The sexual relationship of his opponent and former wife became a scandal.
Barack Obama won the Senate seat.
During his first run for the United States Presidency Barack Obama’s Democrat party threatened to get the IRS tax exempt status suspended of the Jewish Conference of Presidents if a speaking invitation to Governor Palin was not withdrawn.
Barack Obama won the battle. Governor Palin did not get to exercise her freedom of speech.
September 22nd, 2008 | Good Bad Ugly, Obama for President
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Last week was one for the books. Wall Street garnered most of the headlines.
But on the political front an interesting development occurred which did not get any headlines. And for a simple reason; it was the combination of two unrelated events.
The first event happened early last week. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin teamed up to block a vote on a bipartisan resolution ‘recognizing the strategic success of the troop surge in Iraq’ and thanking our men and women in uniform for their efforts.”
The second event was on Thursday when Senator Biden talked about increasing taxes for those earning more than $250,000 with Kate Snow of ABC News, “You got it. It’s time to be patriotic, Kate, time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut.”
A major American political party believes it is patriotic to pay more taxes but serving in the Armed Forces is not commendable.
The week the Democrat party changed the concept of patriotism.
September 21st, 2008 | Good Bad Ugly, Raw Politics
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I went to Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits today for lunch. I love going to my local Popeyes. I love their chicken strips. I love their biscuits. (Ed. Note: He does not drive. He goes when we go.)
My little brother Wally and I vote Popeyes the best fried chicken for dogs.
If you are a dog or know a dog, get to Popeyes for some paw-lickin’ chicken!
Thanks for your time, but now I have some rays to catch.
September 20th, 2008 | Canine Culture
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