Holy Buck, Fatman!

*Any similarities to persons living or dead are PURELY coincidental.

Candidate: I’m a former Constitutional Law professor. This particular bill all but disintegrates the rights of the ordinary citizen from unwarranted search and seizure.

Candidate’s closest advisor: Yes, we know. But, listen…taking the compromise path will win over the moderates and help you win the presidency. They’re attacking you and your family and their meme’s will sink you. Take my advice, you need to be careful right now. The fear factor is getting to the southern moderates.

Candidate: I just…don’t think this is a good idea. what about my most srdent supporters? they could turn….

Candidate’s closest advisor: No, they won’t. They’ll be mad, but this is the best way to beat the other guy who will attack you for being “too liberal”. This is a way, excuse me, to pander to the moderate right. We can make sweeping changes when you win the office of the president. Trust me…The smartest of your supporters will understand. What wee need to do is take away the spotlight on this and change the conversation. Perhaps stalling the vote. Lets see if we can get support for at least that.

Candidate: I suppose you’re right. The only way we can restore the constitution is if I win. I have to win. This country needs someone who will have the balls to do this.

Candidates closest advisor: yeah. Now we’re talking. Let’s move on to the party at hand.

Candidate: We need to mend this division.

I haven’t been this excited about the Presidential election since…since…Since I was 18 years old and walked proudly to the voting booth and voted. (For Clinton, Mind you!)

in 2000, I was sick to death over what happened. In 2004, I could barely get out of bed after the election. in 2006, I was happy we won congress back, but knew it wasn’t enough to change things.  Now, I feel renewed, like something is going to be done.

This fight isn’t over, though. When I wake up on Nov 4 and hear the words “President Elect Obama” THEN I’ll finally have a moment of hope for our country. I think now is the time to start planning my election day party……

Anyhow, back to the topic at hand. While Obama has a bunch of supporters and will probably do very well, his detractors have some interesting “reasons” why the don’t want to vote for him. Here is a sampling of what I’ve heard with regard to Obama’s running for Prez. I’ll translate for you.

“He lacks experience. He just doesn’t know what he is doing”—Random Train Guy

Translation: Black people are lazy.

“I don’t like his middle name. I’m superstitious and I just think that his middle name means something, you know, like the end of the world” —weird bar guy

Translation: He’s a MUSLIM! OMG OMG OMG! The Rapture will happen any day now! are you saved?

“If he gets Elected, man, we are going see this entire city {Baltimore} go to hell in a hand basket”–Mom of one of SR’s Friends.

Translation: Keep those Poor Black people from getting any kind of hope that , they too are entitled to the same kind of treatment that my big white ass gets all the time.

So, It’s awesome that we are seriously witnessing history. It’s also clear that this years election contest will bring out feelings in people that you may have not expected. It won’t be easy to hear it, but if we do we then can start talking about why people feel that way, and perhaps, change their outlook on things.

Yesterday, while I drove back home from the train station, I was listening to all things considered while enjoying the good weather we’d be having. Normally, the snippets are short but informing and hardly ever infuriate me. However, listening to this over privileged southern white woman mask her racism by justifying a shitty ad against Obama because of what a former preacher in his church had said. “He’s just to extreme for North Carolina” The Ad states. The ad ties Obama with two NC democratic governors who are endorsing Obama. What? Why? What is the reason for this ad?

Huh?

Listening to the woman talk in her demure southern voice just kept getting under my skin. She spoke slowly, choosing her words rather carefully as she didn’t really want people to know what the ad really was about. Of Course, there were a few dog whistles in her carefully chosen words. “Freedom of Speech”, “A State Issue” “About the People of North Carolina”

Having once been a resident of a State I haven’t set foot in since 1996, I knew EXACTLY why she was running this ad. Back in 1996, Jesse “Don’t let THAT Boy Win” Helms was in a tight race for Senate against Harvey Gantt, Former Mayor of Charlotte, NC, successful business owner and a black man. While it was NO SECRET that Helms is one of those Strom Thurmond like southern Good “Ole Boys, he was quite challenged by Gantt and pulled all punches to make sure his base remained in perpetual fear of a black man being charge. During the election, residents of NC were subjected to perpetual ads using multiple racist dog whistles that appealed to Helm’s steady base of rich white people.

Listening to this Linda Davies speak in her slow, calculated way conjured up images of the country club community I once lived in while in High School. People would be cordial, welcoming and rather warm. When they heard my mother was Puerto Rican, well….that was it. We never saw them again. The same thing happened while I attended school there. All the kids were generally nice–except after the project on our genealogy came up. It was reveled that I was half Hispanic and although I’m fair skinned, I was also seen as less of a human in certain circles. I was called “Poodle head Spic” by the boys. There were no other Hispanic people in my school. There were only 5 black kids and they had developed a rather thick skin. Hardly anyone spoke to them and they had a tight nit group. The One black teacher was fired for teaching Black History during February after some parents complained. he was fired because of “alledged abuse of Alchohol.” He was a teacher of mine and I never thought he was ever drunk. In fact, I thought him to be quite interesting as he was involved in the Greensboro Woolworth’s sit in.

I felt like I needed to keep my background a secret, so I did. I identified as Polish from that point on and never spoke of my mothers family. Woman who met my parents would say, ” You know, those people” and my parents knew what they were speaking about. It was an ever present attitude that seemed to drape the State like the Ghost of Jim Crowe. I never understood what that ghost was until some years later.

It’s clear the ghost hasn’t been exercised.

Bitter, Indeed.

In chapter 117 in the political mudslinging game that has become the Democratic primary, the Clinton Camp seized on a quote that they believed would lump Obama into that “Uber rich John Kerry” class. Except, well..It didn’t seem to work. Why? because Obama’s comment was, well…true.

Here is what he said: (from the Huffington Post)

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Well, Let’s discuss.

All across the Midwest, jobs have slowly disappeared over the last 30 years, leaving the residents of these once thriving small towns with little options other than a job at the local Wal-Mart. What is left for these people, some who have been doing the same job for more then 20 years to do? Sure, they could go back to college, learn another trade or move to another place. That takes money, though. Rural folks in small towns kinda lack that. Anger about the loss of manufacturing “Dey tuk R Jerrrrbbbbbbbbssss!!!!!!!!!” starts to manifest, backlash against those whom they believe have taken all that they have known sets in. People become protective of their core beliefs, be it hunting or religion. Hence the “Cling on to Guns and religion” part of the quote. When times become desperate (i.e. poverty) a person may seek shelter in their bible and protection with their gun. They want to see a reflection of that same protection of their core beliefs from their leader and Viola! You have an idiot cowboy with a limited vocabulary running the country because he seems like “someone they can share a beer with” even though he doesn’t really drink. Little do these people understand is that their leaders that seemed to reflect their own feelings were actually more elitist and detached then they realized.

Reality is tough when your last unemployment check arrives and your next source of income is completely unknown. Reality is tough when you’re a small sub-contractor that was just outbid by a huge sub-contractor with the resources to hire cheaper labor and not get nailed for it. Reality sucks. Obama said that it’s easier to cling to core beliefs as a protection mechanism then to acknowledge the “Average Joe ” they elected would rather manufacturing move to China and Mexico so his corporate friends can get bigger tax breaks.

…So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

As a way to explain their frustrations. God, Guns and Country is what I like to call this mentality. A very protectionist mentality that seems to be prevalent in places where the economies are the most depressed. This is, at best, a non issue. The Clinton Camp is making a huge mistake by vocalizing this. After all, she did actively support NAFTA which was the major catalyst for the disappearance of much of our manufacturing.

UPDATE: Speaking the truth sometimes doesn’t hurt.

The detachment of the uber rich in this country is astounding. The way they see it, this whole economic crisis is nothing more then a media fear mongering issue. The people who live in their neighborhoods, play golf at their country clubs and attend meetings at their children’s schools all seem to be doing just fine. What is all the fuss about? The people who take care of their children, manicure their lawns and clean their homes all see to be doing just fine as well. Besides, they believe that all that chatter about foreclosures is nothing more then a few people making some bad financial decisions. “It’s all their own fault, they should have read the terms of their loans!” is the common phrase repeated.

These unabashed worshipers of complete deregulation really want the person without the personal responsibility to simply read their mortgage terms and stop messing with the investment bankers who are gambling that they will be able to afford to pay back their mortgages.

I remember the days when I was house hunting. when discussing loans, creative loans were described to me as a vehicle to buy an extremely overpriced crappy ass McMansion in Suburban Utopia if you expected your income to increase significantly within a five year period. So, I understood it this way: you want to buy a 500K house? Well, hope your a first year attorney expected to pull in a partner’s salary within the next few years!  I poopooed the idea of Interest Only loans because I didn’t see a SIGNIFICANT increase in my future. Well, folks, I was right. and you know what? No one else has seen significant increases in their salaries, either. the promises of jobs galore have pretty much bitten the dust. The risk that the idiot investment bankers have taken on didn’t quite pan out. So, Overblown prices in housing and stagnant wages have given way to what? Foreclosures!!!!! Instead of people making more cash by their reset l;ike they had expected to, people found themselves either at the same place they were some years ago or worse: out of jobs completely. What’s even worse is the Rich idiots who bought million dollar homes as “an investment” expecting the equity to increase forever only to be told by their banks: “Sorry, we are yanking your HELOC because you have no equity anymore. Sorry, no vacations for you!” Astoundingly enough, some of these homeowners have decided to “walk away” from their investment and simply take the foreclosure. Personal Responsibilty? nahhhh…fuck that. this wasnt what they expected….it was supposed to be a retirement fund.

This is what pisses me off to no end: It’s okay to let the “Market work” when talking about the regular middle class folk who are constantly getting ass raped in the name of Market forces. It’s okay to rail against those same people when they get into trouble and need help because “Market forces” didn’t seem to work when it came to wages. (you know, real wages actually decreased, people)

It’s perfectly OK to use taxpayer money to bail out a HUGE bank who was deemed “too big to fail”. They made some shitty investment decisions and well, it wasn’t really their fault–it was you, stupid homeowner. YOU did this.  We can’t let the rich people drown in their own bathtub of crappy securities…..Market Forces be damned. We have to save OUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS!!!!

and that is the real story so far,,,

if someone offered me 50$ an hour to pick lettuce, weell..I’d take the damn job too! That’s $104,000 a year! HELL YAH I’d Take that job!

As a Matter of Fact, I really would like that lettuce picking job…..seriously. At least i’d be outside for most of the day and woudl only have to work a season to sustain my lifestyle.  o, Senator McCain–can I have that Lettuce Picking job? 50$ an hour is damn good and a lot more then I make here to sit on my ass entering numbers into a computer! Fuck, man—I’m and American and *I* DO    want that job!

I would gladly take hair brained yuppies living in my neighborhood rather than her.

While I was gone on my Asian Adventure Vacation, The U.S. Economy simply tanked for lack of a better word. I’m not going to rehash what has happened in the last few months simply because it’s just too depressing. What I will say is this: All your unfettered free market deregulation champions are a BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES. (Yes, Grover, I’m Looking directly at YOU).

I’ve recently learned that in the mind of a rich person lurks a pretty selfish line of thinking. They honestly believe that the root of all the financial problems that have happened are simply because people “made poor choices”. No one should be bailed out if they are stupid enough to get into loans that are over their head. No one should be helped, they did it to themselves! Read the papers! Understand your risk! Know what you can afford! {/sarcasm}

BUT—when you are an investor and you stand to loose millions off of weird financial products that a precious few understand, well…the Government better help out right away! It doesn’t matter that investing is a known risk and if you choose to invest in something that is strange at best, well…it’s like betting at the craps table in Vegas—you could loose everything.

Ever see the disclaimers on investment websites like E-trade and stuff? They clearly state that none of their accounts are FDIC insured like your bank is because—INVEST AT YOUR OWN RISK. Do your homework, make sure that you understand what it is you are investing in before you do it. I know that. I take my time to read. It’s a simple lesson my dad taught me early on—-read read read everything and know what your risk is, even if you percieve it to be minimal–just be informed.

It just BOGGLES MY MIND that all these high powered investors don’t want any sort of regulation, but seem to believe they “deserve” to receive MY TAX DOLLARS to make sure their investment house doesn’t go bankrupt and they get their money’s worth from their investment. It would be like me buying a bunch of scratch off tickets only to realize that I spent thousands on something that I LOST money on! So, I’ll just ask the State for my money back! I won’t see a dime of their investment money. For all I care—they should all loose the shirts off their back, loose their jobs, go into forclosure on their over priced homes, cars and credit cards and go back to be regular joe standing in line at the unemployment office.

Isn’t that what happens to us when we make “Poor Choices?”

UPDATE: See? The Fed can Bill the Treasury! SEE, FOLKS?!?!?  Government handouts are OK when the uber Rich stand to loose a buck.

Because Privacy is sooooo Passe

Secondly, I know that the tools that I’ve just described are necessary to protect us. Why? Because we need to know what people are saying, what they’re planning and what they’re thinking. And the tool that I have just described has been very effective.

From Today’s press conference about the debate in the House ver the FISA bill. Because, you know—This Doesn’t seem to count anymore!

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I’ll NEVER forget that time I worked at a HUGE telecom company and was tasked with a case where a man sued the company in a court of law claiming they were intercepting his private conversations via phones and the internet. I dismissed the case, laughed about it with friends.  It was a helluva eye opener to realize some four years later that the guy wasn’t a mere tin foil hat wearing crazy dude—but he was right.

On January 8, I officially, after much reading and homework, decided to support Senator Barack Obama for President. I looked carefully at each candidates websites, read their solutions to our countries problems and decided that Obama has the best solutions to the mess that BushCo created.

There has been some serious fighting going on among dems over who is better: Hilliary or Barack?
Except all I keep reading all over the damn blogosphere are the same fucking memes: Obama is unqualified and Hillary is a woman and therefore not a strong enough to “handle” the Job.

Both of those arguments are utter Bullshit and really present nothing in way real solutions. If someone wants to state their case on their chosen candidate, please give me some real examples of what they might try to do when they get into the Oval office.

There are a few issues that both Clinton and Obama see eye to eye on: Iraq, education, healthcare. I believe that they both would make some serious headway on these issues and both would be a good choice for the Dem Ticket in November.

It’s when you start to dig further into the nitty gritty of issues effecting the Economy, Intellectual Property, technology and the internet, The Subprime Mortgage mess and extending further benefits to the working families of America, Hillary falls short and Obama runs away with it.

I spend a lot of time reading and writing about issues that have been effecting the economy, specifically, the mess that Atrios refers to as “Big Shitpile”. Big shit pile was allowed to happen because in 1999 a very important regulatory law was repealed to pave the way for banks to own investment houses and own “Collaterized debt obligations” which allowed banks to issue bonds to investors against a mixed pool of assets .  The assets in this case  was a bunch of home loans. Two very attractive things about these CDO’s were the fact that they were meant to minimize risk and –pay attention now—weren’t on the banks books. (can you smell that?!?!?! it smells like Enron!)

Essentially, our home loans were pooled together in a sort of “mutual fund” type packaging and bought and sold on wall street by fat cat investors looking to make a quick buck. They made money based on the probability that we would be able to pay our loans back through either refinancing or selling (flipping?)  the home. Actually living in the home and paying the mortgage off within, say, 30 years or so seemed irrelevant.  What these greedy investors failed to understand was that real estate prices had been driven to unsustainable levels and creative financing would be the downfall of these new investment products. Investors were betting on the fact that you and I could repay our mortgages even after ARMS had reset. They kinda bet wrong. Now, congress critters are scrambling to bail out the homeowner—sort of. What they REALLY want to do is bail out the Banks and shitty investment houses because of their bad bonds, products and assorted other fancy schmancy investment thingy. If the homeowner can continue to pay these overpriced and terrible mortgages, then the the fat cat investors won’t loose their shirts and have to declare bankruptcy. How was all this possible? Well—President Clinton signed the repeal of the Glass Steagal Act in November of 1999. getting rid of this last bit of regulation was the start of all of this. Do I believe that Hillary will be like her husband and continue to be very cozy with Real Estate and Big banks/Investment houses? Yes. It’s right there in her Economic Policy page. Her solutions are the same ones that we’ve been handed in the last few months of this major economic debacle. Nothing new here, please move along.

Obama doesn’t want to just bail the homeowner out. He wants to STOP Subprime predatory lending practices, reform the horrible bankruptcy laws that do not allow people to  get out of these nasty arrangements. His Tax cut to offset payroll taxes will put money back into our pockets almost immediately. It’s what we need right away, not a check a few months from now. His Mortgage plans to add tax credits, streamline the disclosures  and other major reforms will also bolster his plan to invest in American infrastructure, through Technology investment. Technology, after all seems like the new Blue collar.

Hillary does talk about investing in research and development as an investment into the future of American industry. However, she all but neglects the entire tech industry and focuses solely on scientific research. While that is very important to our existing infrastructure, it’s not the only thing that we need. The nod to extend broadband access is fine, but we need more investment and tax breaks to keep tech firms from making decisions to outsource.

Obama understands technology better then any of the candidates. He is the ONLY one that addresses the need to keep the internet free—He advocates Net Neutrality!!! EVERY SINGLE major  blogger should be asking their chosen candidate where they stand on Net Neutrality! Where does Clinton stand? I don’t see it mentioned on her issues page. If someone can tell me where she stands and why it isn’t a major part of her innovation agenda I will stand corrected.

I’ve thought about this for a while. I was pretty pissed about the act of pandering Obama using the ex gay idiot. I realized something, though. There is NO perfect candidate. There is only the one that exemplifies the issues that are most important to the success of my family. To me, Obama represents the best chance of getting something done. No, he’s not going to wave his magic wand of hope and fix all the transgressions of the past 30 years. (we’ve had a rough 30 years of Status Quo) Based on his bipartisan work in the Illinois State Legislator, I think he can bridge the gap created by the current administration, push the religious lunatics back to the fringe where they belong and start to work with people—not against them.

Please visit some other wonderfully written bloggy endorsements of Obama for more great reasons why, Yes, We Can!