In Passing

We take note of the passing of Karl Malden. I always thought he was a talented and versatile performer, playing priest (On the Waterfront as counselor to Marlon Brando, The West Wing-- confessor to President Bartlet), policeman (LT Mike Stone in The Streets of San Francisco, mentor to the young Michael Douglas pre-Catherine Zeta-Jones) and soldier (General Omar Bradley in Patton). Malden's career spanned almost 70 years. Long live Mladen Sekulovich!!!!!

Noted on BBC, Fox News, the N Y Times, as well as other web sites----

Palin to Resign as Governor of Alaska

The Times states that Palin would be free to travel more and that she believes she can "effect positive change outside of government." It notes that the governor of Minnesota will not seek re-election so he might pursue other opportunities, including a possible run for the presidency in 2012.

But Sarah is resigning effective the end of July 2009. Her term ends in 2010. Ever since her performance as John McCain's running mate in the failed campaign for president in 2008, Palin has been dogged by allegations of ethics questions and the resignations of key state officials. Given the recent less than stellar performances of other Republican presidential front running possibilities like Senator Ensign and Governor Sanford, don't be too surprised if there's a little more to this story than is being bandied about this Independence Day weekend. And MSNBC has a Lock-Up marathon scheduled---they did break in for this so maybe they are a news channel.......

The Last Debate

OK, I'm sure you've all been deluged with the analysis and commentary about the last presidential debate Wednesday night. So what have I got to add? Probably not much, but............
As the Pirate Dogs and I watched the candidates, we noticed a couple of statements that screamed out for some further exposition but as of this posting I haven't seen any---in the N Y Times, on MSNBC, the BBC, FoxNews, etc.

First, does John McCain really equate Down's Syndrome with autism??? And does the fact that Sarah Palin has a Down's baby make her one of the world's foremost authorities on autism and special education as Mr McCain stated???

Second, did anyone else out there catch the bit about making people who serve in the army teachers without making them go through all the rigors of certification?? Does John McCain believe that any veteran can teach?? Enlistment standards are so low that they waive high school graduation and minor drug offenses!!!!! I think BETTER teachers are what's needed, not just more of them.

Don't forget to pay attention to reason and think before you vote. The Pirate Dogs are counting on you since they can't get that armament ship and take over in DC.

TWTW

This is the week that was. Just phenomenal. From the campaign gaffes to the Wall Street melt-down.
As today's New York Times says---the sound of the bubble bursting. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/weekinreview/21leonhardt.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
I've long subscribed to the theory that when a country/economic entity begins to make money by making money, i.e., letting the financial sector become dominant over the manufacturing or other sectors of the economy, decline results. The dotcom correction, the housing bubble, the trade deficit, and now the latest financial snafus illustrate this. I wonder how many people with money in various funds, saving for their retirement, can define financial derivatives, cdo's, tranches, hedge funds, or the myriad other "financial products" they are involved with, wittingly or not. Let alone understand them. And now the government is going to spend something like $700BILLION to $1TRILLION to buy these tarnished "investment instruments". That's OUR money!!!!! If the Federal Government can raise this money for the purpose of rescuing financiers-turned-gamblers it can certainly raise this sum to fully fund the Social Security endowment and Medicare so poor working people don't have to trust their retirement savings to those same gamblers, which is what the privatization of Social Security is. I believe the money would be better spent in this way and in reimbursing small investors for their losses thanks to the financial mismanagement of their investments by these same gamblers. John McCain has voted to privatise Social Security. He still believes in this. I'm sure Sarahcuda has some canned response along the same lines.

I live in a region of the country where "NOBAMA08" bumper stickers significantly outnumber the ones that read "IF YOU ARE NOT OUTRAGED YOU ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION." Perhaps this week will get more of these people to pay attention.