via: CNN
OBAMA: You know, my job is to make sure that, here in the United States, the American people feel confident that I’m going to be advocating for their interests, that I’m going to keep them safe.
The way to do that though, I believe, is to make sure that we’re paying attention to the rest of the world, their hopes, their aspirations, as well, and that we’re leading with our values and ideals, and not just with our military.
With all recent news regarding the impending mortgage crisis, especially the FDIC takeover of IndyMac Banc Corp., I think it is time to stop bailing out large corporations and simply let them fail.
If “we the people” keep bailing out these large corporations, then the large corporations will never need to exercise restraint. They will be able to make enormous profits off of us by making foolhardy business decisions knowing full well that should things turn out badly, the people that they just raped will offer up their hard earned tax dollars to shore up the corporation so they can do it all over again. We need to end this vicious cycle now.
If we bail out anyone, it should be ourselves. I say, take whatever money we are planning on using to bail out the large mortgage lenders and secure the sale of the their loans to more solvent banks. I don’t think we should be helping out the banks, we should be helping the people. We should restructure and underwrite the loans that are failing and offer them up for sale to banks that aren’t failing. This way, we avoid the looming crises and people don’t lose their homes.
Of course, this will only be a temporary solution. A more permanent solution is to regulate the mortgage market so that sub-prime loans can not happen.
You may have noticed some new graphics on the site, specifically the following in the upper left corner:
Up until this point, I have remained fairly silent regarding my thoughts about who should be our next President. I was very interested in the campaign of Ron Paul, unfortunately he has not received the Republican Party’s nomination.
I won’t spend a great deal of time here talking about why I think Barack Obama is the best choice, but I will say that I do think he is the best choice.
via: Inhabit
There is a really interesting article on Inhabit about Frasers Broadway. It is a highly sustainable development planned to be built in the middle of Sydney. Hopefully other major cities will follow suite, especially in the south-western US where urban sprawl has obliterated the natural environment.
Having recently moved I have been dealing with the unfortunate reality of an extended commute on a number of California’s highways. My commute is 39 miles, one way, the majority of which is spent on one highway or another. As a result of this commute I have found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with large trucks, spefically the lanes in which they choose to occupy.
On any given day, on any given highway I run across numerous trucks that, through their choice to violate certain sections of the California Vehicle Code (CVC), consume far more than their fair share of the road. Through an entirely non-scientific and casual observation of traffic, I have found that trucks make up around 15% of the road going traffic while using well over 50% of the road. I did a little research today and found the following:
21655. (a) … (b) Any … vehicle subject to the provisions of Section 22406 shall be driven in the lane or lanes designated … whenever signs have been erected… . …, when a specific lane or lanes have not been so designated, … those vehicles shall be driven in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right edge or curb. If, however, a specific lane or lanes have not been designated on a divided highway having four or more clearly marked lanes for traffic in one direction, … those vehicles may also be driven in the lane to the immediate left of that right-hand lane, … When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, the driver shall use either the designated lane, the lane to the immediate left of the right-hand lane, or the right-hand lane for traffic … This subdivision does not apply to a driver who is preparing for a left- or right-hand turn or who is entering into or exiting from a highway or to a driver who must … drive in a lane other than the right-hand lane to continue on his or her intended route.
This tells me that trucks should stay in the right lane (unless there are four or more available lanes). I continually run across trucks in the right 2 lanes on a 3 lane highway. I have even run across trucks in all 3 lanes on 3 a lane highway. But wait, it gets worse… I have been on a five lane highway with trucks in all but the leftmost lane! One thing that I have never seen is a truck being stopped by the California Highway Patrol for any of these violations.
So what can be done? Well, how about pressing the CHP to cite violators for starters? I for one would love to see a law enacted mandating that trucks stay in the right most lane irregardless of the number of lanes. I would also like to see a significant penalty for lane violations, including both a stiff fine and a number of “points” on the driver’s record.
http://acsa2000.net/cain2004.org/Dine-Navajo-PressRelease.htm
I hope that this article is incorrect, I can’t imagine that a whole tribe of Native Americans was forced to relocate in 2005 so that major mining interests could strip mine coal that laid under the Dineh land. This can’t be true, we can’t have done this (again) in the latter half of the 20th century. Oh yeah, the Senator primarily responsible for getting this travesty of justice pushed through the system and enacted into law was none other than current GOP front runner Sen. John McCain! Please keep that in mind this November.
UN information regarding the forced resettlement.
Jay Leno had Ron Paul as his headlining guest last night on The Tonight Show.
It seems that this was done in response to Fox News not inviting Ron Paul to their New Hampshire debates, prompting a withdrawal of the New Hampshire GOP’s support for the debate. Ron Paul has collected more money than any other Republican thus far and polled equal to or higher than at least one of the guests that Fox News had invited (Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and John McCain). Kudos to Jay Leno and NBC for having Ron Paul on their show. Hopefully the exposure on The Tonight Show will counter any negative trends in the New Hampshire primaries.
This whole issues brings to my mind a couple of questions:
On a side note, please check out Ron Paul’s website. While my mind is not entirely made up, Ron Paul is definitely a front runner
I was searching Google for some information on Adobe Lightroom and came across this at the bottom of the results page:
In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 2 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org.
Is this for real? I can’t believe it! This is surely a sign that the end is near. This is even more proof that large corporations are running the show. When I search the internet, I should not be censored by the United States government! I view this as a violation of my rights to free speech. I have been presumed guilty of doing something that corporations don’t want me to do, and am therefore being censored by the United States government. I have broken no law, I have made no trespass. It should be up to me, and me alone whether or not I will view the results of an internet query, the United States government need not intervene on behalf of any corporation.
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