mail@davemoral.es

I am stubborn in my support of things and people.  Once I cast my lot in with an idea, a person, an approach, I tend not to change my mind very easily.  To do so is to effectively admit you were wrong in your initial analysis (and I don’t like to be wrong) *sarcasm*

I have stood by this President through thick and thin.  He did not earn my vote in 2000, but did in 2004 and I have been one of those 25-ish% of Americans who still approved, on balance of his job performance.  The past two weeks the dam has burst and I have now officially disowned him.  Step one was his gopher-like behavior during the fiscal crisis, popping up and emerging form the oval office only long enough to make a brief statement.  Then, after refusing to take any press questions or further reassure the country, he scurried back into his hole in retreat.

Now comes these remarks, within the context of record drops in the markets, and after a $700 billion transfer of taxpayer money to the private sector.

As global markets plunged, President Bush on Monday said “it’s going to take awhile” for the government’s $700 billion financial rescue plan to bolster the troubled U.S. economy.

Gee, thanks for the reassuring words Mr. President.

But, he added: “We don’t want to rush into the situation and have the program not be effective.”

Don’t want to rush? I see, so the fury in Congress the past two weeks, the midnight meetings with Treasure Department, the warnings of pending doom and gloom and calamity was measured and restrained?

Give me a break.

When the books and post-scripts are written on this election, one conclusion I hope will be drawn is the vast amounts of money corrupted the system in a fundamental way.  Both campaigns are swimming in cash.  The Obama campaign is flush with record donations, many by small, first-time contributors.

On a basic level I appreciate the engaged electorate.  I like the notion that my fellow citizens care about politics, the path of the nation and are part of the national dialog.  On the flip side  both campaigns have their darker side, the shady underbelly that predominates the American political scene.  Money corrupts, and I worry for the future of our system and process when so much, a truly insane amount, of campaign cash is in play.

Consider the cases of Obama donors “Doodad Pro” of Nunda, N.Y., who gave $17,130, and “Good Will” of Austin, Texas, who gave more than $11,000—both in excess of the $2,300-per-person federal limit. In two recent letters to the Obama campaign, Federal Election Commission auditors flagged those (and other) donors and informed the campaign that the sums had to be returned. Neither name had ever been publicly reported because both individuals made online donations in $10 and $25 increments. “Good Will” listed his employer as “Loving” and his occupation as “You,” while supplying as his address 1015 Norwood Park Boulevard, which is shared by the Austin nonprofit Goodwill Industries.

Obama’s ‘Good Will’ Hunting | Newsweek Periscope | Newsweek.com

Damn, I wish I had the money to bid on this.  It would make a fantastic gift for David Matthew for Christmas and make me the hero dad of the century!

The mighty ballista is offered for sale by custom timber housebuilders Carpenter Oak & Woodland, who built it for a joint BBC/Discovery Channel documentary in 2002. According to the makers, the machine successfully hurled a stone ball of unspecified size to a range of 127 yards, but knackered itself after just two shots. However, they are quite willing to restore it to working order if the buyer requires.

Full-size Roman siege artillery offered on eBay • The Register

Virginia is the best state (Commonwealth) in the Union, bar none.  We don’t have hanging chad issues, or election day controversies, but we do have unique character and characters (1 – 2 – 3).

We have the left up in arms over allegations of voter purging, and we have the right tossing a fit over teachers unions and electioneering in schools.

As a side note, let me go on record with a prediction. I don’t know who will emerge victorious on November 5th, 2008, the electorate is all over the map this year.  Current polls show Obama up by between three and nine percent in Virginia, a week after a narrow McCain lead.

My firm prediction is that Virginia will not end up in the Democratic column after the dust settles.  Virginia has not voted for a Democrat for President since 1964.  Do not underestimate the power and the motivation of rural conservatives and social conservatives to turn out en masse when they are motivated to do so.  Rural Virginians are motivated, more so than suburban moderates and liberals in Northern Virginia and urban democrats.

Prediction: McCain wins Virginia by 1.5% on election day.