What's Going On In Africa and How It Affects You & Me

So I will start off with saying I am unfamiliar with the political and social goings on in Africa. I must first preface this by adding that Africa is a continent not one country, like the United States is not the sum total of North America. I'm sure the US likes to think of itself as the be all end all of the entire continent AND world - particularly with this administration. You know that Manifest Destiny outlook has been adopted and is still the motivation of every military/political/social/financial aspect this gov't pursues. 

"Africa" is rarely covered in the news and when it is there are only problems featured. Poverty, war and bloated babies with flies. Oh yeah and let's not forget rape, AIDs, starvation and an attempt to tie "Islamic fundamentalism" whatever that's supposed to mean. The continent is actually three times the size of the US, the second biggest continent aside from Asia and has 53 countries. And can we stop using this made-up term "Sub-Sahran" Africa?!! It is soooo annoying and signifies nothing! Just like there is no South Central district in Los Angeles. These are words used by some to connote a specific meaning - usually something steeped in prejudice. Like referring to Obama as elitist or uppity when they just want to use the "N" word instead. 

So why am I 'unfamiliar' with Africa? Because the focus of conversation is always from such a biased slant in the US and I can't trust what we're being told. Just like I think we're being sold fake gold with regards to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. And there's always this push to separate Egypt from the rest of Africa or to claim they're European because their phenotype is different. If that's the case then Italy should come and reclaim Argentina because they're descendants of Italians that speak Spanish, right?

Anyway two things happened this week that gave me pause. One is that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe 'decided' to share power with the opposition party. I have no idea if his candidacy is legit or not. I do know that the US had once supported him and is now backing his political rival. I also know when he took the country back from the UK he kicked out a lot of the whites that had been 'given' land. 20% of the white population 'owned' 80% of all the land. Colonialism at its worse. Today's freedom fighter is tomorrow's terrorist. Pinochet murdered millions of people who dissented to his rule but he was a friend of Thatcher of Reagan. 

I'm not sure if this will make the lives of the people better as the sanctions imposed on the country by the US & UK have kept them lacking in all basic services and food. That doesn't sound like a democracy that sounds like continued colonialism and punishment for trying to be a sovereign nation. The US nor the UK have any moral standing to dictate to any country about how they rule. Look at Haiti.  

The other event is that South African President Thabo Mbeki has been recalled and will be stepping down before his term ends. Jacob Zuma will be the next President. I'm not sure how much good he has done as head of the ANC but I do know I have some serious reservations. He went to trial for rape. That's bad enough but the woman, Fereka Kuzwayo was a family friend and is HIV-positive. She requested and was granted asylum in the Netherlands. Zuma was head of the National Aids Council and had unprotected sex despite being aware of her health status. What kind of judgement is that?!!! 

Nelson Mandela will always be held in high regard but he had a real opportunity to affect change when he was released from prison. Yes it was very Christ-like for him to turn the other cheek so to speak and not prosecute de Klerk and all the other white gov't officials, but I'd like to know if black South Africans feel they got the shaft? Was it another situation like with Civil Rights being focused on integration and not equality?

So I've been reading blogs written by African nationals and nobody likes to be thought of as a beggar or needing help. That's how they feel their entire continent is portrayed and I'd be kinda pissed off about it too. 

So there's my two cents. I haven't touched the cultural differences and the rampant woman-hate that exists because quite frankly it is not particular to Africa alone, but it is a factor in the armed conflicts that are still ongoing. I am aware of it and it sickens me and I want it to STOP!

I also haven't touched on the IMF and World Bank bleeding countries dry and causing a cycle of poverty. It's implied a few paragraphs up with my continued colonialism argument. Have I missed anything?

We all deserve to have our basic needs met and to lead productive lives. A few moments of inspiration would be nice as well. We who live in the West and are in a position to help. We can get our politicians to draft laws that assist rather than harm. Obama has passed legislation that does that. And he actually said Shrub has done some good with AIDs awareness and treatment. I'd like to get a confirmation of that one from people who live there though. 

There's organizations like Heifer International that not only give aid but provide resources for people to take care of themselves, particularly women. You know the recent hurricanes have caused so much damage but have hit Haiti really hard and they could use more help. 

**And for pure fun an escapism be sure to watch the Red Carpet events and millionaires wearing their free clothes and borrowed jewels during the Emmy Awards tonight. 

Right now I am not feeling it but I do want to find out if Sookie gets bitten on True Blood tonight!

This Was Supposed to Be A Concert Review

This was just what I needed! As I am fighting fear, outrage and a semi-permanently negative attitude I had to drag myself to the Amel Larrieux show I'd bought a ticket for last month. I seriously have to fight doing one thing daily I can say is 'productive' towards my real career and life goals as well as making enough money to survive on and it's wearing me down. Thriving seems like a luxury right now. 

I'm not sure when I decided to view life through a prism of hardships and difficulties. I remember at age eight declaring I was moving to NYC after high school and attending NYU no matter what. I wanted to be an actress, specifically to do classic theatre (Shakespeare, Moliere) and musical theatre. Yes and because I was a total fashion junkie I had to be a magazine editor. I planned on doing that 9-5 and doing a Broadway show at night. I actually thought I could do that! Youth, huh?

A funny little thing happened on the way to NYC. I didn't get the lead in a musical my Junior year in high school which was disappointing but it was the rumblings from other students that I'd been passed over because the faculty advisor who auditioned us didn't want interracial leads that made me realize how challenging the world can be. 

The student that did get the lead gave a cute audition but she could not sing a lick. I was cast as her understudy and I tried to be a trooper and just let it go. The teacher always denied it but I grew up in Buffalo which has placed in the top five of most racist cities in this country consistently for years.  That situation hurt my heart to the core and I remember feeling like I didn't have any control over my life anymore. Now I also know that my upbringing and family life had something to do with my reaction let's just say. I'm not going to discuss the details of that but I know I'm prone to being depressed, pessimistic and have a lower threshold for stressful situations because of it. 

College was supposed to be my out and living in NYC was my declaration of independence. My response to that one situation made me falter and I started blowing off my college applications and I just remember feeling like it didn't matter what I wanted because the deck was not in my favor. I'd been in a gifted program and actually liked school until then. I think that's a horrible attitude for a kid to have and I see that type of apathy in many today - but theirs is far worse and is often compounded by violence. 

Since then my life has taken many divergent paths. I did go to NYC. I went to a different college and I had to put that on hold for a time due to finances and got so angry about everything that I joined a cult. I didn't realize it at the time. I left the cult and felt I couldn't leave my house without fearing a lighting bolt from a vengeful god had my name on it. I still pursued acting and moved to Los Angeles, then back to NYC. Then to Toronto and back to Los Angeles. Then to San Francisco. Then a detour in London and back to San Francisco. 

I've tried to live a full life and still pursue creative endeavors. I've skipped a lot but suffice it to say, I still want to make a living at performing and I LOVE to travel. I want to get married and have at least one biological child and adopt a child. I want to be comfortable. Hey, gotta put it out there!!

Now I want to declare to the world that I know I need to be positive which I haven't done in a long time and I want to change it. It finally clicked that being 'realistic' may not be the way to go. Some of it's external forces I have no control over and I want to be able to recognize that. The rest is up to me however. I am way too hard on myself and it just paralyzes me from doing the things I know I can accomplish.

I have always been a big dreamer even when most people in my family would not encourage or support it. Any roadblock or setback is met with this "when are you going to move on and get a 'real' life" or "you're not getting any younger don't you think you should...". I needed real solid guidance and a Plan A, Plan B-G apparently which I've learned over the years through trial and error. But I wanted to be able to say I made it and I made it on my own terms. I never wanted to rely on being 'rescued' or having to allign myself with a man. Let's be clear I'm not talking about a mutually respectful and loving relationship. I'm talking about the wealthy and connected men that like to hook up with younger less worldly women in exchange for money and access. I had offers to be the 'professional' mistress of a few older wealthy men and even a lesbian who knew I was not! 

A lot of times women don't even get these offers and are instead treated far worse. Hence the prevalence of women turning to the porn industry because it's so lucrative financially speaking but destroys their souls that much faster. The ease with which some people can barter their bodies, time and youth and innocence just to get ahead has always astounded me. I couldn't do it. No matter how tempting it was. I thought it was due to religious beliefs but I think it's way deeper than that. It was my value system. They are not mutually exclusive - at least I don't think so. 

Phew! I guess I had to get that out. One of these days I'm going to come back and scrub this blog clean. No archives, nothing!! But the universe listens according to some very successful people. If they can work through their hardships then I'll be damned if I can't work through mine!

So back to Amel. She comes to the Bay Area every year now to play Yoshi's. Her show was so good and REAL. People brought their children. I don't think I can recall one concert of contemporary music where so many kids were present. I'm talking one mom had her two year old and Amel noticed her from the stage and the baby waved back and said hello! It was soooo cute. There was a ten year old who's birthday was today and they had a conversation about her earrings. I even saw two twelve year old boys in dinner jackets and slacks.

Amel had a little trouble with adjusting her mic stand and admitted she hadn't done a sound check. And the bass player was getting a lot of feedback from his amp. So I was going to be critical about that because that's 'Professional Singer 101' to do a sound check. But she won me over in the end. It reminded me we are not perfect even if the cake didn't rise all the way it still tastes good! 

I know I'm not the average concert attendee. I'm looking at it from a different perspective. I'm split - because I want to enjoy it but I'm analyzing song selection, length of songs, band rapport, the stage show, pacing and audience response. You know stuff I'd want to do with my own show. So.... it was all really really good. She shared a lot of personal stories as well like bonding with her daughters over Project Runway. She had a really great interlude where she danced with her backup singer and the band slid into an Afro-Beat section. And she closed with her first solo single and the Groove Theory song that had a lot of women leaping out of their seats to dance in the aisle. It was a renewal of my spirit. Thanks Amel! 

And onward I go.....

Hope, McSame Or Real Change: What Are These Pols Really Offering?

So with all of the financial upheaval going on lately I don't know what to do. Unemployment in California is the highest it's ever been at 7.7%. As you may (not) know the reported rates are for new cases and isn't added to the existing rate. That 'rate' represents people. Wall Street gets the big bail out and we get a 1 TRILLION bill AND no help for us. That's NINE ZEROS - wait TWELVE ZEROS!!!!!!!

I have to say I am not pleased with the McCain solution for fixing the economy - because he isn't offering one. Tax breaks to rich people does NOTHING to help the average citizen. I am also a little disappointed with Obama's plan because it looks good on paper (and is a good plan) but doesn't call for the complete overhaul that is necessary. Yes I know he isn't going to say it because it will rub the gatekeepers the wrong way. He's not dumb, but neither am I. 

It's been interesting watching the teevee pundits talk about the economy like they have some authority on the subject. There's criticism levied against both plans, but we know McCain's has a snowball's chance in hell of being remotely beneficial for anyone but the 1% top earners.  He just wants a good sound byte. 

 

Any real change is not going to come from a proposal by a politician anyway. A lot of people just want to be told everything will be okay for them so they don't have to take any responsibility. It's inconvenient to choose a lower standard of living when you tie your worth into your possessions. Nobody likes hearing how policies that may benefit us cause harm to others. Complaining is easier than sacrifice and discomfort. 

This is why when I read this I found myself SMH in agreement with a lot. Should the messenger diminish the value of the message? 

Seize the Time!
An essay by Cynthia McKinney
September 19, 2008

We the people must now seize the time! We have always had the capability of determining our own destiny, but for various reasons, the people failed to elect the leaders who provided the correct political will. There was always some corporate or private special interest that stood in the way of the public good. And they always seemed to have the power of the purse to throw around and influence public opinion or our elected officials. The very foundation of the U.S. economy is crumbling underneath our feet. This represents a unique moment in U.S. history and we must now seize the time for self-determination--for health care, education, ecological wisdom, justice, and all the policies that will make a difference in the lives of the people including an end to all wars, including the drug war!

The crisis was staved off for a time for some of our major finance engines when they were able to obtain bridge funding from certain sovereign wealth funds. That option grows increasingly dim as The Federal Reserve is becoming the lender of last resort. This means that the people are becoming the owners of the primary instruments of U.S. capital and finance. This now means that the people have a say in how these instruments are to be used and what their priorities ought to be. The people should now have more say in how their tax dollars are spent and what the priorities of government and the public sector must be. We the people must now set our demands to ensure and promote the public good.

Now, as we ponder the importance of this moment to do good and serve the needs of the people, some politicians have already figured out their answer for us: win or steal the next election, prepare for more war, and leave it to others to try and figure out what to do next. While banks are failing all around us and the U.S. taxpayer is drenched with news of billion-dollar bailouts for *selected* companies, the Congress, which has utterly failed in its twin responsibilities of setting policy and Executive Branch oversight, plans to adjourn instead of setting new policies; lessening the impact of the economic free fall on innocent victims; or stopping war, expansion of war, new war, and occupation.

In a dizzying turn of recent events, we have all witnessed the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage providers, investment banks Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, and insurer American International Group (AIG), and other companies. So far, at least eleven banks have filed for bankruptcy this year. The case of the AIG bailout is particularly curious as Merrill Lynch was denied taxpayer largesse. I wonder if AIG was the selected company for bailout because of its relationship to the U.S. intelligence community and what others would discover if AIG's books were opened in an audit. The last person to get close to AIG and its shady operations was Eliott Spitzer.

But some more fundamental issues must be explored here, relating to the underlying assumptions that have guided U.S. political and economic activity, particularly over the last eight years.

The Bush Administration's "anything goes, just don't get caught" attitude has set the tone for what we are witnessing today. To be sure these problems didn't start in January of 2001, but they sure were allowed to accelerate during the George W. Bush Administration. For example, what tone was set when the Administration shipped $12 billion to Paul Bremer's provisional government in Iraq in cash on wooden pallets for Iraq reconstruction? No wonder $9 billion of it was "lost." What I'm constantly reminded of is that the money didn't just vanish, somebody got it. Now it's up to us to find out who!

However, the Administration's blatant disregard for good governance, the rule of law, standards of moral and ethical conduct, and even etiquette, when coupled with a laissez-faire, "go-along-to-get-along" attitude from Congress meant that no holes were barred and no hands were on the deck--a sure prescription for disaster.

In my reading over the course of the last few years, I had to become somewhat conversant with the language of the new economy: bundled mortgages, securitization, SPEs, SIVs, derivatives. But in addition to the old concepts that always seemed to be with us--predatory lending, redlining, no affordable housing amid "the housing bubble,"-- it soon became clear that basically folks had figured out a way to make money off of a ticking time bomb. Kind of like prisons for profit. And even though the Enron scandal was supposed to have cleaned up a lot of this, unfortunately, even Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regularly engaged in some of these practices and that's why you and I own them today. I believe it is true that the very foundations of the U.S. economy and conventional political behavior have been shaken. Now is not the time for business as usual. And although this is by no ways exhaustive, here are a few things that I think the Democratic-led Congress could work on now instead of adjourning:

1. enactment of a foreclosure moratorium now before the next phase of ARM interest rate increases take effect;
2. elimination of all ARM mortgages and their renegotiation into 30- or 40-year loans;
3. establishment of new mortgage lending practices to end predatory and discriminatory practices;
4. establishment of criteria and construction goals for affordable housing;
5. redefinition of credit and regulation of the credit industry so that discriminatory practices are completely eliminated;
6. full funding for initiatives that eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in home ownership;
7. recognition of shelter as a right according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which the U.S. is a signatory so that no one sleeps on U.S. streets;
8. full funding of a fund designed to cushion the job loss and provide for retraining of those at the bottom of the income scale as the economy transitions;
9. close all tax loopholes and repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% of income earners;
10. fairly tax corporations, denying federal subsidies to those who relocate jobs overseas repeal NAFTA.

And since the Congress plans to adjourn early and leave these problems to The Federal Reserve, The Federal Reserve should operate in the interests of the U.S. taxpayer and not the interests of the private, international bankers that it currently represents. This, of course means that The Federal Reserve, too, must undergo a fundamental ownership and mission change.

This crisis does not have to be treated as merely a "market correction," or the result of a few rotten apples in an otherwise pristine barrel. This crisis truly represents the opportunity to introduce fundamental changes in the way the U.S. economy and its political stewards operate. Responsible political leadership demands that the pain and suffering being experienced by the innocent today not be revisited upon them or the next generation tomorrow. But sadly, instead of affirmative action being taken in this direction, the Bush Administration ratchets up the drumbeat for war, Republican Party operatives busily remove duly-registered voters from the voter rolls, and our elected leaders in the Congress go home to campaign while leaving all of us to fend for ourselves. For the Administration and the Democrat-led Congress, I declare: MISSION UNACCOMPLISHED. For the public whose moment this is, I say: Power to the People

Ok so I can't find anything 'wrong' with this policy. It's hella radical though. Of course I'm not an economist but you know what? Those so-called 'experts' don't know jack! They know how to leverage assets and inflate their value to sell them off while crossing their fingers behind their backs. "Leave us alone gov't and let us do what we know best." Then when it blows up in their faces they're the first ones with a pout and expecting a hand out. 

The corporate media is going to sleep on this. I also noticed the mention of Spitzer regarding AIG. That little sex scandal took out a good politician - of course he had to know going against large corporations would net him a surplus of enemies and shouldn't have made it so darn easy to be targeted. 

What do you think?

Common Sense Flickers Briefly

Wow what a difference a few hours make! Ah-nold FINALLY signed the dang budget! He's still a jerk and bad for the average citizen that makes less than $100K but at least some of the other members of the state legislators who aren't multi-millionaires or married to political royalty have an understanding of the basic struggles of everyday folk. This doesn't quite resolve the continued $15B shortage - a lot of which comes from the inflated price of housing that's going to keep falling until it's reset to the correct value. Again, it's telling how the approach to solving this comes down to political party philosophy or how the rich stay rich on the backs of the poor. From the Guardian:

Democrats wanted to raise taxes on high-income earners, Schwarzenegger proposed a one-cent increase in the sales tax, while Republicans opposed any tax increases and advocated cuts in services.     

I received an email from the Courage Campaign asking people to consider requesting an amendment to California Constitution.  

America has been here before. During the 1780s, our newly independent nation faced a crippling economic crisis and a government that was unable to effectively respond. To remedy the crisis, James Madison, George Washington and other public servants met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to reshape the federal government to resolve the crisis and provide for stable government that also protects our freedoms and rights. We celebrate their achievement by calling them Founding Fathers.

We believe California is at a similar crossroads. The economy and the political stalemate will only get worse unless we fix Sacramento. To fix Sacramento, we need the kind of structural change that can only come from a revised California Constitution.

The Courage Campaign is therefore considering asking the state legislature to convene a Constitutional Convention for California, which would open up a formal process to enact significant structural changes in our government -- just as our Founding Fathers did in 1787.

We think it is imperative that such an important decision only be made with the support of our members and our allies in the progressive movement.

Well, it's something to consider. For now we have a reprieve, but how long will that last? Schwarzenegger might just be trying to stave any real solutions as his term is ending and he can pass the buck to the next sucker, er Governor. Rumor has it San Francisco Mayor wants the job. Helping to pass the Gay Marriage Amendment certainly helps his cause. 

What's Good For the Goose Is Good For the Gander, Right?

So there was some foreign money involved in the $85B WELFARE CHECK issued to AIG, but the brunt of it is still being passed onto you, me and the future grandchildren we may never have. Who can afford to have kids? I'm not talking about draping them in designer duds for tots either. I'm talking about feeding them and having a roof over your head.

Yet Donald Trump and some of his more whiny Liberal For Pay peers want to complain about having to pay their FAIR SHARE in the form of capital gains or corporate taxes because it's sooo hard out there for a pimp, er billionaire. Oh sorry - everyone isn't a billionaire. Some of us are just RICH. As for the rest us:

• unemployed
• underemployed
• working two jobs 
• skipping meals to feed their children
• not being able to retire because Social Security doesn't cover rent
• filing for bankruptcy 
• displaced citizens 
• sick 
• down and out 

OR 

• lucky to still have a job but you finally get it that you'd better start cutting back 
  

Nobody asked me if I wanted to pay for this. I don't see the gov't calling me up saying they have a cost of living expense check with my name on it!! 

When it comes to being poor and/or disenfranchised does the gov't even know you exist? Or are we always used as a scapegoat example of the "ills" of society? As if hard work ALONE = RICHES. Isn't the deck in fact stacked against us already? 

I look at the executives running these companies and the politicians that passed the laws to benefit them and see a sea of white-skinned male faces in high places pulling aces from a pre-sorted stack all the time. Even when they're caught stealing or bilking their companies OR involved in some pay scheme donation scandal it barely registers a blip on the evening news. 

Meanwhile some other politician or teevee pundit is screaming on the boob tube about "urban" crime and "illegal aliens" being the cause of the apocalypse. 

Which brings me to One Drop's post over at Too Sense where he contrasts the gov't rescue of AIG versus the abandonment of New Orleans. It makes me mad all over again.

Because the government cannot be forced to compensate all of its victims, the only way justice could ever be done would be for the federal government to voluntarily decide to pay damages. Not being an economist, I don't have any numbers with which to calculate the total cost of rebuilding every home destroyed by the Corps. But I cannot imagine it costing $85 billion to do so.

The AIG bailout shows that the government is capable of massive cash outlays in responding to a crisis. Given sufficient will, the government has sufficient resources (or, at least, its Chinese lenders have sufficient resources). This is not a question of ability, it is a question of priority.

Priority indeed. We see where this current administration places its priority. Not in its citizens. In California our own Republican Governor has seen fit to veto the budget meticulously worked on by members of both parties. He sees fit to instead throw the would-be middle class bread and butter workers into poverty. See the majority in the Bay Area saw past the Hollywood glitter and did not vote for him in the first place but we get to suffer because the rest of the state did. 

California has the highest number of defaulted mortgages in the country. Rents are at an all-time high with the lowest vacancy rates ever because people have nowhere to go - except out of the state. We pay the uppermost sales tax rates.  All of those companies going under have numerous offices in this state as well. 

 

What we see happening now is just the beginning. Goldman Sachs, Wachovia and WAMU are very likely to be next. The gov't can't bail all of these companies out without a huge public outcry - at least I hope! 

Not when they left Gulf residents twisting in the wind and allowed the insurance companies to NOT pay the policies of those who'd met their end of the bargain. 

I hope I'll be singing a new tune come this November. 

Do You Prefer Mandarin or Cantonese?

No I'm not talking about food. Although it is yummy and given the correct portion sizes very healthy, but the Chinese I'm referring to is language. I know there's this continued brouhaha over dual language education that masks a lot of racism from whites and their desire to hold onto a majority populace in relation to people speaking Spanish. 

China is going to be next superpower so we'd better just get used to it. How many formerly US-based businesses are there now? How many of our products are manufactured there? How many of our economic bail-outs are they financing? How much money do they have invested over here? We don't want China or all the other foreign gov'ts calling in their markers. 

I'd also recommend learning some Russian. Georgia hasn't been granted NATO status just yet! Besides Russia has lots of oil. This gov't destroyed their financial infrastructure and I'm certain they haven't forgotten. 

US citizens are notorious for being insular, xenophobic and not knowing any other languages than English - if that. I'm not fluent in other languages but I at least know lots of phrases and am willing to try. I've also left this continent and it didn't involve serving in the military. Traveling outside the US should be required of every person born here. 

You'd be surprised to find the world isn't flat and people are perfectly able to function and live fulfilled lives without ever having touched ground here. You'd also find numerous reasons why people hate the US and it's not because of our "freedom". It's because this gov't has terrorized, starved and subjugated citizens around the world all in the name of US dominance. Need I mention the training of people by the CIA who are our "friends" when they fulfill the needs of the gov't and are labeled "terrorists" when they do their own bidding. 

And we stood by and let it happen. As long as some of us could get that picket fence and the rest longed for it nobody said a word. The "American Dream" is about control and domination and greed. Buy this!! Look cool. Be the envy of all your friends. Get the latest gadget or be square. Just charge it - who cares if you can't actually afford it. Don't save any money, sacrifice or deny yourself. You deserve it. You're an American!

Yet some of us want to to look to China as the great Red Evil for it's torture of its citizens and censorship. That's what we do here with our draconian 3-strikes laws, lack of low-cost medical care, growing population of people who are homeless and ridiculous standards of femininity.  

We vote - or don't vote for the elected officials. We have sat by and remained ignorant of what they do and won't demand accountability. We are enamored with someone strictly due to their appearance and how we relate to that image and don't ask any questions about their character. Or we make excuses for the lack of it because we think they're "one of us".  

There is so much more at stake than who we chose for President. Of course the Republicans are trying to do the choosing for us by denying millions (particularly Black people) the right to vote by challenging residency of those who's homes are in foreclosure. No surprise there when you look at the history of this country.

We have to decide what values we hold most true. There are a lot of good people in the world but ignorance is not bliss and nor excusable any more. 

The Costs for Supporting White Male Patriarchy and Greed

So we've got less than 50 days and according to numerous polls this election is tighter than a drum. How can that be? There's the possibility that the corporate media is flat out lying to the public to mislead us. Ok let's be real - that's more than likely - especially when you take into account those national polls focus on older people with landline phones. Yet those numbers still seem rather high in favor of McCain considering what a lousy candidate he is. Will this election come down to a few people who refuse to let go of their racial preferences and need to appear superior? 

When McCain said he didn't know anything about the economy why wasn't that a deal-breaker with the voting populace? Is that being a maverick? Madonna is more of one than he ever was and even based her record label on the concept. Speaking of Madonna she always insisted on investing in things like art. When tech stocks were all the rage - remember them - she said they were too unstable. Perhaps if we're going to be obsessed with image or personality or ovaries we should look to her for business advice and standards. 

McCain certainly knows enough to marry a wealthy woman, be involved in a savings and loan theft, and support his 'former' advisor Phil Gramm who wrote the bills that allowed this latest mortgage catastrophe to occur. This would be the same person that said the people who've taken note of the crumbling economy and are justifiably upset are "whiners".  McCain's just going along with things and has no idea what his closest allies are up to. He didn't pick Palin to be the Trojan horse for issues that will negatively impact women. Yeah right. 

Do you know what McCain does as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee? Today his spokesperson claimed he invented the Blackberry! I thought Research in Motion was a Canadian company though. Hmm.

Insurance giant AIG is on the verge of collapse and the Fed and other companies are scrambling to put a deal in place to try to stop it.  Goldman Sachs will see almost no profits for its 3rd quarter earnings which means that it's very close to running in the red - businesses that don't make profits tend to go under. 

Now if you're part of the less wealthy segment like me you may be wondering what this all means. You may not have had any investments after all. You certainly didn't get to profit when these companies guaranteed financing for interest-only mortgages and the rates went from 1% to 20% overnight. You may have been one of those consumers that Suze Orman warned against taking them 2 years ago because the payments would soon balloon out of control. You will definitely be one of the tax payers who ends up footing the bill for this debacle - you and your grandchildren and their children that is. Meanwhile all the CEOs get to walk away with their 20-300M severance packages and the public says nothing?

Of course McCain promises more of the same should he be selected with regards to your health insurance. If you have employer-paid insurance you'll be taxed on the declared value of your coverage. Mine cost $534/month for individual coverage in addition to my co-payments and deductibles. The upside according to him is the $2500 refundable tax credit I'd be gifted. So I'd already be operating in the red cos my insurance costs $6468 per year + $600 in deductibles + $10 co-payments + cost of Rx. Now I may be suffering from fuzzy math itis but if he has his way I'd get to "choose" my insurer, but be taxed for it and end up paying at least $4000 more all because McCain claims to have a "better" plan.  

He also wants to gut Medicare and Social Security while giving more tax breaks to corporations. Now the question should not be about who has more experience when you see how the person who's been at this for 26 years has been in the thick of muck his entire time in the Senate. When he displays his lack of judgement at every opportunity. When his campaign lies and lies again and lies some more still. 

The question is for us and where we place our values. Maintaining a false status quo and being prideful won't keep you in a job, in a home or put gas in your car. It also won't defeat sexism or buy you a pony. It won't make millions of people around the world hate the US any less. 

We are responsible for the government we have and how that government behaves. Until we take ownership of that we will continue to pay a high price. When will it be enough?  

Update 824pm: The Fed agrees to bail out AIG to the tune of an $85 BILLION loan. 

Why is welfare ok when it applies to businesses but not for individuals? When it benefits a few politicians and their friends. Since the costs will be passed to us I say the gov't should give us a tax reprieve for the next 10 years. This is way more important than the casting of a golden-haired actor to play James Bond, but our eyes were not on the prize. We need to get some new laws in place and enforce the ones on the books.