Holy Buck, Fatman!

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.

Is right here. You WILL NOT be disappointed!

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

That’s It, I’m handing in my resignation, giving up all my worldly possessions  and taking this job.

Why that is awesome. AAAND—y today’s exchange rate, I’ll be paid a helluva lot more $$, too!

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.

It’s 1:30pm on a Tuesday afternoon and I am sitting in my Downtown DC office listening to my streaming public radio station, WYPR. Except there is something inherently wrong with the whole scene. Right now, I’m used to listening to the Marc Steiner show which allows me participation in discussion about issues that effect me directly as a resident of Baltimore City. As of Friday, February 1, 2008, there is no Marc Steiner show. Instead, I’m half listening to some bullshit broadcast out of New York City. What the fuck do I care about some stupid ass NY Giants ticker tape parade or Mardi Gras coverage out of New Orleans? Where is the community discussion regarding issues effecting Baltimore City and Maryland as a whole? WTF?!?!?!!?!?

Marc has read several of my e mail responses on the air regarding several issues of importance to me. When Gerry, the older guy who calls in every day to rant loudly, Marc listened and always politely told him when his time was up BUT–always gave him an audience. He wasn’t ever rude to his listeners even when they had an opposing viewpoint. His guests ranged from John Waters and Cal Ripken Jr. to Governors O’ Malley, Ehrlich, as well as various Congress Critters, Senators and State, City and County Legislators. (even Molly Ringwald which delighted my inner sixteen year old to no end) He always reminded his guests that each of them would have a chance to respond equally and discouraged ad hominem attacks and yelling. His special broadcast about the Vietnam war and the vets who fought were both touching and haunting.

I tuned in yesterday and thought, “Oh, must be a day off”. I didn’t it give much thought. Imagine my surprise when I caught the Today section of the Sun Paper on my way to DC this AM. HUH?!?!?!?!? While I enjoy the Kojo Nnamdi show on WAMU, it’s not very informative regarding Baltimore/Maryland issues. Sheiliah Kast’s Maryland Morning is a fine show, but it doesn’t really allow for much audience participation. Today she spoke with Marc and Tony Brandon regarding the separation. Tony blames ratings as his number one reason to let Marc go.

I call total and utter bullshit.

Marc responded today on his blog. His decision to leave without taking the “hush money” is admirable. We are now witnessing the death of community radio and real community coverage of issues effecting all of us at a local level.

I haven’t listened to FM radio since clear channel invaded the airwaves changing how we are fed information. Local news is all owned by large conglomerates and only reports sensationalists news beside human interest fluff pieces that lend little or nothing to the efforts of local community leaders in their work to improve our lives. I can’t stand foolish morning shows on silly radio stations and crave intelligent discourse on issues either national or local. When JHU changed to WYPR, I made the switch permanent.

It’s insane to take away the only show that the local audience directly participated in and state that it had to do with ratings. Ratings? What are you measuring the ratings against? Tony Brandon’s letter to the listeners explaining the rash decision tells us that all other shows such as Fresh Air, The Diane Rehm show and a host of other NPR sydicates won’t be affected. Uh…But….what about local discussion?

It’s seems that some of Marc’s discussion topics were really making the corporate underwriters very unhappy. Feathers were ruffled some time back and this separation, as Marc details in his latest blog post, was a long time coming as they slowly removed him from decision making positions over time. Of course, I’m speculating, but what other conclusion can I arrive at? I’ve always maintained that control of the public will NOT be from the government, but from corporations that manipulate the flow of information to the people. They need us and will go to great lengths to ensure that we, the public, believe they are acting in OUR best interests. ha. riiiiiiiiiight.

Local Maryland/Baltimore discussion will have to reinvent itself in the last bastion of free expression: the internet. We see a ton of local blogs that highlight local issues, events and discussions happening around the city and the state. While some are personal anecdotes of dealing with crime, BG$E rate increases, Property taxes, The suckitude of the Orioles and various commentary on local events, we do have some informative community blogs that tackle straight news and announcements about town. We need more.

Don’t let the discussion on local issues die with a few rich assholes who claim they’re going to keep local discussion alive. At this point in time I can only assume that if they even allow the public a forum to discuss issues, it won’t be on topics that damage the reputation of the almighty corporation. Clean, nice fluff that appeals to more *ahem* dare I say it, conservative viewpoints will probably be showcased.

I was going to donate this year. I’m not any longer. As for listening at work, I’ll have to settle for Kojo. He might not deal with issues effecting my locality, but at least he prompts local discussion.

From the WSJ (subscription needed)

Governments should set policies and disburse funds to create financial incentives for businesses to improve the lives of the poor, he plans to say today.

I can’t believe it. The poster boy for Capitalism is now realizing that there is a major gap between the haves and the have nots. Red Rover Red Rover Send Billy Right over! *hands Bill Socialist Kool Aid* DRINK UP, BABY!

While it is wayyy awesome that he delivered a speech littered with shades of Socialism to a bunch of capitalist Blowhards in Switzerland yesterday, his focus is largely on developing countries. Some might call this “emerging markets”. If he wants to do it, I believe he will. Hopefully, he stays true to trying a “kinder form of capitalism”

By the way, Bill, that’s called socialism. It does work. Just go to several countries in South America.

I’m not an economist by any means; I just play one on the internet with my simplified understanding of how things should work. I have read a ton of books, had some interesting discussions and studied the historical implications of other policies that were executed in the past. I often yield to more experienced blogs when it comes to more complicated opinions. My opinions come from the experiences of the common lay person. I suppose that makes me what they call an “armchair Economist” In light of what has recently been happening, here is my take.
The stupidest possible thing the government can do is put together a stimulus package. This has been hammered home in tons of economic blogs, but no one is really listening. Take for instance this quote from the Daily Reckoning: ( a Baltimore Based News letter about global economics. These guys are NOT your typical talking heads you see on 24 hr Business news channels. These guys called the Big Shit pile some years ago and they were spot on.

“I just don’t get it! What would make these people think that? We’ve never been in a debt situation, government or public, like we are today, so I’m wondering how they think a stimulus package that puts money into people’s hands that go out and spend it and it’s gone, whoosh, vanished into thin air, is going to be the magic elixir for the economy”

Lets hear it for B-more. We’re a little unconventional in thought on many issues, but damn—someone needs to listen.

The village idiot we have in the white house has sent out three tax rebates in the past. The first rebate I remember I did not get a check. The second rebate I received a $400 check. This time, I think the government needs the fucking money more then I do. Wtf am I expected to do with this money? Oh yeah—That’s right—I am expected to go out and put a down payment on a flat screen television. Or a Blueray DVD player or buy me some new clothes. Fuck THAT!

One of my guilty pleasures on Teeveee is “Clean House” on the Style network. There are other shows similar to it, but I like Nicey, so…Clean house it is. Mister Fatman groans every single time I put it on, but I’m just fascinated by it. There are major reasons I watch the show. First, It is terribly apparent that shopping/consuming and hording things are the quick fixes for every problem from depression to issues people refuse to face. Stuff is the comfort that makes someone feel good about themselves. It makes them feel wealthy. It brings satisfaction that they got it on “sale”. Stuff defines them as a person and sometimes consumption can get out of control. The other reason I watch the show is—well….YOu should see my effin office. It’s a shithole of stuff that I need to get rid of!!!! After watching several episodes of the show I have come to realize I realllllly don’t need that much shit and my money is better saved then spent. When it’s time for a purchase, it better be functional. It’s taken me a long time to realize that the shit I have, I’m not using. I need to get rid of it or put it to use. I can’t wait to organize my own purge. Lastly–I saw the end results of a friends recent purge and Damn…I’m jealous. Downsizing is good.

WE’ve been told from the very beginning of the bush administration that we need to spend spend spend. From the moment those first tax rebate checks came in to today. Shopping is what holds us afloat. what if everyone decided to take their rebate checks and save it? what if we all decided to open an add on CD at our local bank or Credit union and started to add on to the damn thing? It would benefit the banks and would start a trend of saving like our Asian friends across the pacific pond.
Hell no. No saving in “murka. I just heard on the news today that China is a bit worried about the ‘murkin consumer’s inability to shop. They’re worried about their jobs.

Guess what, china? So are we.