Tax-payer to Markets: "Can I have my money back?"

"Dow closes below 10,000 amid global sell-off"

So, can I have my $700 billion back, please?

Foreign Policy Matters

Listening to NPR this morning while getting ready for work.
Candidate McCain is being interviewed.
Interviewer asked him an array of questions (economy, campaign, etc).

One question was along the lines of, "Governor Palin has stated at least twice that she has foreign policy experience because her state is close to Russia. Can you talk about how Alaska's proximity to Russia gives Governor Palin foreign policy experience?"

Candidate McCain began by saying he doesn't trust Obama or Biden, and then replied that Palin is qualified because of her experience working on energy issues......


.....Um. What?



I can't quite figure out who I'm more disappointed in: the interviewer for not pushing the issue ("Sir, your answer has nothing to to with this question of great importance to the nation's future"), or in McCain for not having the cojones to answer a legitimate question, or in McCain for picking her in the first place.

Hmmm, maybe I do know who I'm more disappointed in... but it's a shame. Only a few years ago I was chomping at the bit to vote for him. Now I'm just saddened and a bit scared. This certainly doesn't sound like someone who's putting America First.

And nevermind the fact that at least 13 US states border other countries. I can guarantee you that Jesse Ventura was not automatically qualified as a foreign policy expert when he became Governor of Minnesota.

Brinner

My dinner the other night consisted of two vegetarian spring rolls, two organic pork sausages, and a short stack of silver dollar pancakes.

It all somehow seemed like a good idea at the time. Turns out it was.

Announcer for the Apocalypse

I realized recently that Shay Stevens - on-air news announcer for NPR - will be the one to announce the arrival of the apocalypse for a large number of people.

Once that flashed through my head, I now can't hear her opening ("I'm Shay Stevens") without immediately thinking, "And this is the apocalypse."

I'm not really feeling that dark about things, it's just that I realized that if I ever actually hear about a global catastrophe - as opposed to experiencing it firsthand and therefore not needing any commentary - the chances are extremely high that Shay will be delivering the news.

I wonder if she's had that though, too.

Weird.

An actually non-partisan political blog entry

I recently stumbled across two different places where you can complete a survey on various issues, and then your responses are compared to the positions of the major presidential candidates.
I'll admit I was actually suprised in some ways by the results, and found it an interesting exercise.

Whatever issues are most important, or whomever you plan to vote for, I think it's valuable for all voters to know why we're voting the way we do.

And, if you're feeling bold, drop in a comment about what you think about the surveys, the results, and such.

Survey 1 - http://kuow.org/elections/selectacandidate.php

Survey 2 - http://2008election.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=1564