It's been a week. Let's see what I can squeeze out of my fingers today:

- If you live in Georgia and you only do one thing for me in your entire life, let it be voting for Jim Martin for Senate.

- Estelle Reiner has passed away. If you've ever had what she's having (which you probably have not if you're one of my former partners or current partner), you owe her a debt of gratitude. [Thanks, Defamer]

- If you like the Beatles and pretending to play musical instruments, you probably wet yourself after reading this.

Finally, a note about the election:

I don't care which way you vote, but please, please, please get out and vote. Not exercising your right to vote is the equivalent of urinating on the grave of John McCain.

Democrats, you'll be voting on November 4th this year. Republicans, you guys are voting on November 5th.

May the best man win.

Labels: Barack Obama, Georgia, Jim Martin, John McCain, movies, politics, the Beatles

Is anyone a fan of Patton Oswalt? I am. I think the guy's brilliant. He does this bit about how the world is so surreal it is now Earth, where Bush won and 9/11 happened and we're at war and Paris Hilton is famous. There must be an alternate Earth, where Gore won, and the towers are still standing and Paris Hilton was eaten by wolves.

I can't get that out of my head when I think about what's going down on Wall St.

My real problem is that the punishment just doesn't fit the crime. These Wall St. folks took horrible risks, failed miserably and their punishment is to retire with their millions while the government (read: you and me) are left to clean up the mess? That's it? Why should I have to foot the bill? I pay my taxes year after year. I make sound investments. I monitor my credit card bills to make sure I'm not taking on too much debt.

The president told people they needed to own property. That it was their civic responsibility to go out an buy a home. So they did. They went and took out mortgages that they couldn't afford under the assumption that their house would rise in value into the indefinite future. That the housing bubble would never burst. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that ain't working out too well for too many people.

Where has Bush's "ownership society" left us?

I've resisted buying an apartment or a house because I wanted to be sure that I could afford it. I've rented a place for 10 years. I was responsible with how I went about my life and my finances. And my tax dollars are bailing out the gluttonous thieves that are walking away scott free, while people lose their homes and the entire economy teeters on the brink.

Is it right that the government has to take over Fannie and Freddie? Of course not, but what were the options? By the time it got to them (thanks to Mr. McCain and his deregulation efforts), they didn't have any choice. Not only that, will probably assume like every mortgage in the country. My friend Doug is calling it "The People's Republic of the United States of America" and the worst part is: he's not that far off. The government will literally own your house. Not the bank. The government.

What's the solution? Find the CEO of Lehman, of Bear Stearns, of Merrill Lynch and all of the investment banks and make them pay. Make them pay for their risky, irresponsible behavior. Take their bonuses and their golden parachutes and use that money to start getting there. It won't make a dent in the $700 billion bill that we're staring down the barrel of, but it's a start.

And it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better.

Labels: finance, John McCain, my high horse

Great ad from the Obama campaign.

Also, reminder to keep checking Things Younger Than John McCain. Very, very funny website.

Labels: John McCain, old people

I'm finally fed up. I can't even believe that this is what the media is making a big deal out of. This feels below even them, who seem to make a big deal out of the smallest, most meaningless things.

And guess what this is distracting everyone from? The fact that McCain hasn't mentioned a policy, not one single policy, that he has.

The fact that Bush and McCain are giving the same speeches.

The fact that Sarah Palin is in a bunker somewhere preparing for an interview with Charles Gibson, and during this time, no one's allowed to talk to her. For fuck's sake, this woman could be president.

How about Palin's church ties?

How about Troopergate?

How about the fact that a "fiscal Conservative" led her state to its highest budget ever?

You can't cut taxes and spend. It doesn't work. You can't return a tax surplus to the people, then borrow to build a hockey rink.

Forget about the censorship.

The more the media keeps picking at these little things, like whether Obama called Palin a pig or not, the less we hear about things that are important. You know, things like:

- our financial services markets, which are about to fall apart
- our economy, ready to fall with it
- unemployment being way up
- the fact that 45 million people in this country have no healthcare
- the energy crisis

Put this in the face of McCain/Palin campaign and make them answer tough questions. Make them confront how they're different from the crap that we've been fed for the last 8 years. Make them show us exactly how much of a "maverick" McCain's been since 2004.

Labels: idiots, John McCain, politics, Sarah Palin

Hi everybody!

There's been so much action over the last few days that I don't know where to begin and I don't know if I'll remember it all. Fortunately for me, no one reads this. The other day I got to thinking: what's the real difference between writing a blog that no one reads and walking down the street talking to myself? I was distressed that I couldn't come up with anything, so I called myself a whore and ran away.

Amazingly, I'm actually progressing on my latest effort to fool the publishing world into giving me money for the blithering drivel that I manage to smear all over the page (or screen, I guess, I haven't "written" anything in ten years).

Hey, my good friend Sarah Palin is running for Vice President! Did you guys see her speech the other night? She was so awesome! She was so good that I nearly died from hypertension listening to it and started throwing things at my television in complete glee. And I also love how she let her grandfather speak last night. Even though he seems a little confused and disoriented, that's probably just dementia.

Also, my good friend Sara Benincasa and her good friend Diana Saez are doing some deliciously hysterical Palin spoofing. You should all get out on YouTube and watch them. Start here and watch all six of them.

OK, all done for now.

Labels: John McCain, politics, Sarah Palin, writing

Senator John McCain, about Dan Quayle, at the 1988 Republican National Convention:

"I can't believe a guy that handsome wouldn't have some impact."

I don't even know what to say.

Labels: John McCain, politics, quotes

Just passing along a l'il something here.

Planned Parenthood put out a little video about John McCain's view on things like women's reproductive rights and sex education. Call me old-fashioned (or "new-fashioned" to Grandpa McCain), but to me, women should be able to control their own hoo-hahs. And someone that actually utters the words "I don't agree with Roe v. Wade. I think it should be overturned" just flat out doesn't get it on a lot of levels. Again, just me.

[Tip of the hat to Sara B.]

Labels: hoo-hahs, John McCain, politics

Bush or McCain? It's not as easy as you think.

Labels: John McCain, politics

Things Younger Than John McCain

Labels: John McCain, politics