Category: General

Ever since Barack Obama began his run for the presidency, I’ve been able to feel some new pride walking down the street. Why? Because as a black man in America, regardless of all of my degrees and accomplishments, walking down the street, people were most likely to think me a criminal than a physicist, or a software engineer. But when Obama made his run and started winning, I feel a new, and at last, positive stereotype had been added to the mix. Maybe, just maybe, that black guy walking down the street with the quick, confident strides was like Barack Obama, smart, articulate, and strong. I hope that last night’s presidential victory has permanently added that new stereotype to the list of possibilities people see for all black people.

Now that the first rushed Wall Street bailout plan has been rightfully swatted down, maybe it’s time to really work on something to solve the problem. Why not gather the finest minds in economics and finance together to form an Economic Manhattan Project? Give them say 3 months to come up with at least 3 plans to fix the mess and prevent its recurrence going forward.

It would then be Congress’ responsibility to select the plan to implement. Of course the plans would be subject to debate and compromise. But under the watchful eye of the public, I think there’s a chance that the temptation to slip back into the usual mode of congressional business could be lessened. (One can dream right?) In any case, at least we would have on the table some plans that make sense and might just work.

Sadly, I doubt that any such thing will come to pass this close to a presidential election. But it sure would be nice to put our vast intellectual resources in motion for the common good for a change.

Well how about that? The bailout bill failed in the House today. Now maybe they’re actually listening to the taxpayers who don’t want to be stuck writing a huge welfare check for the well heeled morons who got us into this mess. With little oversight, there is no guarantee that all the jobs that this bailout supposedly would save, would be saved at all. As soon as they get that money, it’ll be business as usual with those of us lower on the food chain getting the sack while the CEO’s and CFO’s figure out new ways to get around the lame rules this bailout supposedly imposes. And still, nothing in the bill to help the perhaps millions of Americans in serious mortgage trouble.

If the system needs to be fixed, then really fix it! We don’t need or want Wall Street Welfare. Take as long as it takes to do the job right so that this doesn’t have to happen again. I sincerely wish that the Congress could find its way to putting the people first for a change instead of their rich pals.

There aren’t really many things that make me rage, but blatant stupidity is definitely one of them, and injustice is another. Against the backdrop of thousands of people losing their homes and being tossed out on the street with little care or notice from the government, we’re preparing to bailout the fatcats who orchestrated this mess to the tune of $700 billion USD or more! *RAGE*

What’s the big rush? This crisis was primarily precipitated by unbridled greed and overly abstracted financial “products” that effectively hid the true risk of the underlying investment. In the end, Wall Street became little more than a casino. Now, why all the rush to turn over hundreds of billions of dollars to the same morons who got us into this mess? I would rather see a well thought out plan that was transparent and made sense come out in 3 to 6 months, than something pushed through quickly that can only further enable the gambling addicts on Wall Street.

The world is not likely to end in 3 months or even 6, but with the US presidential election little over a month away, I guess the politicians are afraid the voters will punish them if they don’t rush something through. Sadly, I scarcely believe the electorate is that smart, otherwise why on Earth would anyone even consider electing McCain and Palin a viable option? Sadder still, I don’t think anyone responsible is going to be punished for the financial meltdown that has taken place. I suppose punishing blind, reckless greed would be just too un-American… *RAGE*

Even after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the death penalty in cases of child rape, it appears that some politicians intend to keep writing unconstitutional laws invoking it in rape cases. This ultimately underscores the hypocrisy of all too many of our elected officials. They say that the death penalty is a deterrent and that we need it to protect the children. These are just fallacies, our laws rarely deter anything, people inclined to murder or rape are not going to sit down and reason that they shouldn’t do it because of the death penalty. We only catch up with them, if we do, after the fact. At that point, life imprisonment is sufficient to ensure that they are no longer a threat to society.

But I guess that wouldn’t satisfy the desire for delicious vengeance. Vengeance is not justice, and in a country where so many profess to be Christians, they should know that vengeance and justice belong to the Lord. Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay! (Romans 12:19-21) I guess God’s justice just isn’t good enough for blood thirsty people. Maybe we should do what it says on the money and trust God, instead of trying to sit on His throne all the time.