Blogging Funk

I think I have figured it out. The blogging funk: Nearly all of my day--from 6:30am until 6:30pm--I am a creature of the public school system. First is school, then is soccer. After dinner and a little reading it is back to bed to prepare for another day. This leaves me with little time for other experiences.

"Then blog about school and soccer!" I hear you all crying out.

Sound the horns. I've decided that, in general, school and soccer and bloff-limits (blogging+off-limits=bloff-limits... simple algebra really). It's not fair to the students nor professional to discuss those things that happen during the school day with students. That leaves me with a couple hours at night to experience bloggable things. Quite frankly, that hasn't been happening.

So now we know what's going on. Perhaps starting in a month (after soccer) things will change. In the meantime maybe I'll start making stuff up.

Financial Meltdown

Shit is certainly hitting fan right now in the United States. It's important to note, however, that it is not only within our borders that the financial problems are booming. European banks are also failing and Asian markets are struggling as their primary markets (the West) take a nosedive.

What is occurring is truly fascinating. The problems are so complicated that most of the population does not understand a problem that may cause total financial crisis. Shoot, even some of the most brilliant minds disagree on the cause and certainly disagree with the best solutions. Though I have read much about what is going on, my understanding still remains fairly rudimentary. At its core--if you want the nickel version--the financial markets are locking up because there is no cash for loans. Much of what makes our financial system go around is that banks are able to hand out credit left and right. Now, however, there is no money to dish out. Credit is nearly unavailable and our financial system has started locking up: available credit is to the financial system as motor oil is to an engine.

So here we are with a financial crisis that nearly no lay person understands yet those very people will be affected, some with devastating results. With the government's solution locked up in Congress we can only sit on our hands. Enjoy the wait.

UPDATE: For those wondering, the reason, it seems, that banks are not willing to extend credit is because they don't trust that other banks will be able to repay the loan. Why? Because no one knows which banks own how much in bad bad bad bundled mortgages (We've all heard about falling home prices and foreclosers, right?). The essence of the bailout plan, I believe, is for the government to buy up all those bad mortgages from banks that are drowning in them so as bring everyone afloat with credibility. Capiche?

Blog Recommendation Needed

I want to read a blog about space exploration, space-related technology, the international space station, space tourism, NASA, etc etc etc. Any ideas?

Bravo

The winner of the first (and probably last) "Great blogger lines of the day" goes to Kevin Drum over at Mother Jones:

This sounds like a bunch of skydivers forming a circle and thinking they can all pull each other up. I think you'd need M.C. Escher to illustrate it.

UPDATE: I spoke too soon. In his next post Kevin offers this gem:

House Republicans, who apparently earned their high school degrees from a rack of gumball machines, decided to hold their breath and stamp their feet unless capital gains taxes were eliminated, a lunatic proposal that has exactly nothing to do with our current problems.

Bravo indeed.

Inspiwhat?

The financial world is coming to an end, I'm teaching and coaching, the presidential race is on fire, and my fave season (fall) is upon us, yet I continue to be terribly uninspired to write. Hopefully I'll snap out of this funk soon. Bear with me.

Mystery

We all have things we remember from our childhood. Often these memories lay benign until awaken by a particular trigger. Serena and I once talked about the Public Broadcasting show "Mystery" and how it's intro left an indelible image in our minds, serving as a trigger for both of us.



As the weather turns colder, memories have roared back. Something about fall in La Grande--the smells, weather, leaves, soccer--evokes a dramatic emotional reaction in me. So, for today, it's "Mystery" and fall bringing back wonderful memories. Yours?

Football Fun

Who's excited for college football tomorrow?!? Football fan or not, this will get you laughing:

Our Choice

Any questions?

Intellectual Pleasure

A new blog has rolled across my desk. Good writing, sharp thoughts, both things we could all use more of.

Hittin' the Fan

Shit's sure hittin' the fan when it comes to the financial system in the United States. The DOW is down about 1,000 points in the last three days, financial/insurance companies are falling apart, the government is bailing these private corporations out, and my dog's tumor is continuing to grow. Things are bad.

But... I'm reading a fun book called "The House of the Scorpion" that I want to finish tonight. I got it highly recommended from the middle school librarian and she was right that it's entertaining. So it's read or blog... gotta have your priorities.

Now, will Matteo escape to freedom!?!?

A Reminder

Let us not forget.

Lying Update

Even Karl Rove, yes THE Karl Rove who guided Bush into the White House not once but twice (using the sleaziest of tactics), says that McCain is lying.

Lying

What is going on with the McCain/Palin campaign?!?! Since introducing Sarah Palin as his running mate, they can't go a day without lying. Now the media is noticing. Some of the lies:

1. The campaign said Sarah Palin had traveled internationally to Ireland and Iraq. Turns out, however, that she sat in her plane while it refueled in Ireland. Her Iraq trip consisted of her flying into Kuwait and taking a trip to the Iraq border. That's it, no meetings, no tours, nothing. Instead of stating the truth they tried to make it sound like she had extensive foreign travel experience.

2. Sarah Palin stated that she never tried to ban books at the local library while she was mayor. Truth is she asked the librarian three times about the process for banning books. Palin then fired the librarian for not fully supporting her.

3. The McCain campaign keeps repeating the lie that Sarah Palin, as governor of Alaska, did not support the Bridge to Nowhere. In reality she did. McCain is saying Palin never requested federal earmarks. She did that too.

4. McCain is lying about Barack Obama's legislative record.

5. They're even lying about their crowd sizes! Pathetic.

What makes this all the more grating is that McCain is largely basing his campaign on honor and character. It's time we the public call him on this.

Tough Soccer Week

This was a tough week with my soccer team: we played three games in five days, were missing one of our captains (he is traveling in Ireland, tough life right?), and had a couple players nicked up with injuries. With the short bench and lots of game time we came up with three wins, including a win in our first league game. Hooray!

Weird Score

Today a funky football score occurred:

Auburn 3
Mississippi State 2

You don't see that often.

And now we will return to our regularly scheduled blogging.

Hostages

Another question (the last one has elicited a grand total of zero responses, so my hopes are not high): Have there been an any American soldiers captured and held hostage during the Afghanistan and/or Iraq Wars? I don't know the answer, do you?

UPDATE: Thanks to Vicki in comments who reports there have been hostages, however in limited numbers. With all the fighting and deaths in the last five years, the low number of hostages is certainly a testament to the military's ethos of leaving no man behind.

Tell Me Why

Question: Why are people considering to vote for McCain? Honestly, I want to know and need help. What policy positions do people like? Answers please.

I Heart Jon Stewart Part III

I just can't get enough Jon. This from Matt over at My Road Less Traveled:

I think the Obama campaign should hire the Daily Show to do their campaign ads - they seem to be hitting the nail right on the head!

Agreed. People must understand that McCain will say any and everything, even if it completely contradicts what he believed in before, just to get elected.

Soccer Team

Another weekend, another trip. I'm taking my soccer team to the east side of the state to tour Oregon's capital building, check out Oregon State's campus, and watch the Oregon State men's soccer team play Gonzaga. See you on Monday!

I Heart Jon Stewart Part II

John brought this to my attention over at Vita Brevis. Apologies for another Jon Stewart clip, but it's brilliant. How can people vote for McCain?!?!? If you are going to vote for McCain and are embarrassed by that decision, just leave your reason why anonymously in comments.

Experience

If ever you hear Republicans argue that Barack Obama's lack of experience is reason not to vote for him, say this:

1. The Bush Administration--with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, David Addington, Paul Wolfowitz, Stephen Hadley, John Ashcroft, and company--had more combined experience than any previous administration in history... and look where that got us.
2. The last time Americans elected a legislator from Illinois with only a few years of experience we were rewarded with one of the best presidents ever: Abraham Lincoln.

Judgment, policies, and knowledge, not experience, are of utmost importance.

I Heart Jon Stewart

Those people will say anything. Do they not realize just how ridiculous they are?

Sarah Palin Knows God's Will

John over at Vita Brevis brought up an interesting point about Sarah Palin's religious views. Apparently she told graduating ministry students from her hometown church in Wasilla, Alaska that the Iraq War and a completed oil pipeline were God's will. My favorite excerpt from John:

Methinks the first sign that someone doesn't know God's will is when they begin a sentence with "God's will is," and end it with something about "war" or "oil pipeline."

Touche.

Drill Baby Drill

More than once at the Republican National Convention tonight the audience started chanting "Drill baby drill!!!!" They want to put an oil rig in everyone's back yard. How quaint! Whatever happened to the "conserve" in conservative?

Someone needs to deliver Republicans this memo: We can't drill our way out of our dependence on oil. We could drill everywhere but because there is a finite supply we would eventually run out. There are two choices: 1) Find an alternative to oil now (walking, biking, electricity, compressed air, car pooling, public transit, etc etc etc) or 2) Ruin our environment by drilling everywhere, run out of oil in a few decades anyway, and then find an alternative to oil.

I'll take door number one.

Charming

Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, said yesterday that "This election is not about issues."

Good Rick, nice of you to admit that McCain is not focusing on issues, but rather personalities, fear, and deception. Bravo for honesty.

Sarah Palin

Five days ago John McCain chose Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, to be his running mate. Interestingly enough, he made the decision six days ago. Most presidential nominees take lots of time, consider their options, and select their VP candidate with great measure. Not John McCain. Dude follows his gut (sounds like our current president).

Apparently he was going to choose former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge or former Democrat Joe Liebermann... until he got the memo that the crazy right wingers in his party would abandon him if he chose a pro-choice running mate. So what did he do? He chose Sarah Palin, someone he'd met twice and Googled the night before. Rather than making a well thought out decision, McCain made a rash decision based on flawed information. Sound familiar? Do Americans want another person who makes decisions just like Bush?

As a result of not putting Palin through a rigorous vetting process, McCain selected a running mate with a colorful history. Enjoy:

1. She recently hired lawyers (with government money no less) because she is under investigation for corruption. Apparently Palin fired Alaska's chief of police because he wouldn't fire the man her sister was divorcing. Stay classy.
2. As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired lobbyists to secure federal earmarks to the tune of $25 million... the exact earmarks John McCain bashes in his stump speech.
3. Palin is an extremist when it comes to a woman's right to choose, gay rights, and guns. This isn't middle of the road Republican stuff, we're talking waaaaaaaaaaaaay crazy. Examples: She believes abortion is wrong even in cases of rape and incest. Also, in 2000 she supported Pat Buchanan for President (Google him or take my word that he's crazy). Interestingly enough, she supported Buchanan over McCain in that election.
   
4. She was affiliated with the Alaskan Independence Party whose primary goal is to get Alaska to secede from the United States. That doesn't exactly jibe with McCain's campaign slogan of "Country First."
5. She's the anti-environment candidate. She wants to drill offshore, drill in ANWR, drill here, drill there, drill everywhere! She also doesn't believe humans are contributing to climate change. Another one of thoooooose.
   

I'll stop there. Feel free to add more in comments.

What really strikes me is this: McCain had more than a few months to find the single best person in the United States to be "a heartbeat away from the presidency" and he waited until the last minute to choose Sarah Palin. He treated it like a 7th grader would his homework. Plus, assuming he wanted to select a woman, what about Christine Todd Whitman, Susan Collins, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, or Condoleezza Rice, all in possession of vastly more impressive skills.

This selection is weird on so many levels.

Bike Race

This weekend I beast on the bike. I won my first real race: proof. (Look under Cat 4/5)

I gained time on all the contenders during the time trial where I had the opportunity to ride a real time trial bike with the radical handlebars. The one I rode looked a lot like this. In general time trials are not a favorite for riders because it essentially consists of pure pain. While I was watching the pro racers start I talked to a guy next to me and he said, "Yeah, time trials are only cool for the goofy helmets and fantastic bikes (Without googling it, any guesses on how much that bike costs?)." I lolled.

Now into school!

Back!

I've been away from blogging for the past few days due to a soccer game and a three day bike race (more on both later). Now I'm back with lots to blog about: first day of school, Sarah Palin, Hurricane relief, etc. Keep an eye out.