I mean, I complain so much when the index is tanking, I felt like it was high time that I dropped in some positivity, as well. Is it because of Obama’s statements regarding the US automakers? Is it because the G-20 has agreed on terms of regulation? I’m not really sure. But for me,  getting back over the 8000 mark is the icing on top of this beautiful sunny spring day. See that? I used a metaphor. The BSSD is the cake, the DJIA is the icing. I learned it on Reading Rainbow.

Other exciting things going on right now:

1. Our birds are crazy. Reagan accidentally set one free last night and we had to capture it.
2. Reagan and I decided that we are going to learn French. We have already had one lesson. I can now say “suck it, monkeys!” in three languages, not counting Pig Latin.
3. Gen. Conf. is this weekend. This means that instead of going to church, I get to lay around the house and try to spot my mom on TV.

Normally I like to leave posts about Politics and Economic woe, for allupinyour.biz, but I saw this graphic today on Animal New York, and it got me thinking.

The amount of money represented in the graphic above, is one billion dollars. One trillion dollars is one thousand times what you see in the picture. That’s a lot of cash. Ok, now that you have the mental image of one trillion dollars, try to put it into a practical example. I hate Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh as much as the next guy, but Rove has published a couple of articles recently that have really gotten under my skin (not because of the author). The reason they bothered me, is because the content of the articles, points to all of the discrepancies of the campaigning Obama, vs. Commander in Chief Obama. Today, a different Carl, sent me the link to an WSJ Op. Ed. piece authored by Rove. A lot of it was repeat content of an article published earlier this week, also authored by Rove, dealing with bait and switch. But the part of today’s article that blew my mind, was the following:

Not even Team Obama can forestall unpleasant reality. And among those America now faces is Mr. Obama adding $3.2 trillion to the national debt in his first 20 months and 11 days in office, eclipsing the $2.9 trillion added during the Bush presidency’s entire eight years.

Whoa! $2.9T is a lot any way you slice it. But to Bush’s credit, it was spread over 8 years, including all of the 911 and war crap. The Obama administration is a runaway train and the boiler fire is being stoked by pallets full of money. 20 months?!!! $3.2 trillion?!! Ok, so now take the money in the picture, multiply it by 1 thousand, then multiply that by 3.2. It may just be my limited imagination, but I’m having a hard time even picturing the image of 1 thousand times what is in the graphic. Was this really the kind of change that we were looking for?

I’m really seeing the fruits of that hard fought stimulus package, right about now. Or maybe this is just a reaction to Oscars, Hahahah. Wouldn’t it be awesome if bankers had a Wall Street equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscars? All of the Wall Street players could have a big televised party  where they get together,  blow smoke up each other’s arses  and give each other awards on TV. Don’t forget to mix in some extremely biased political views during the award speeches. Why not? I feel like Bernie Madoff and John Thain are probably as notorious as Sean Penn, these days. Forgive my cynicism. Sometimes, I just can’t help but let it fly.

Too bad every day isn’t a bank holiday, if this is what happens.

I woke up in fine spirits this morning. How could I not, after watching my team win such an exciting game last night? Utah came back from behind in under 2 minutes to tie the game with a 2 point conversion, after a touchdown drive that lasted all of 40 seconds. They were then able to force Oregon to punt, and ended up winning the game with a field goal as the clock expires. You really can’t script them better than that. For those who are keeping track. Oregon State knocked out the #1 ranked USC last week. Utah is now 6-0 and leads the MWC.

Other exciting nuggets from last night include watching HR Kucenich’s speech on C-span, and of course the VP debate. The house debates are giving me a lot more faith in government, than the Senate has been lately. It has been very interesting to me, to see the unlikely amalgamation of reps that have come together in the skeptics caucus, on the issue of the economy.

The VP debate, was tough to stomach. I have to admit, I was expecting Palin to do worse than she did. It was comforting to see that Palin could cram for the test. Even though she was still very evasive on several issues, when she reverted to her talking points, it was clear that she had put in some time trying to get a grasp on things. I was seriously questioning her intelligence, before last night. So the fact that she didn’t totally fold gave me a little bit of comfort. What I could not get past though, is her demeanor. I really just can’t take her seriously. When I listen to her try to make her points, I feel like I’m watching a PTA meeting.

Finally, I did end up getting some shots of the Intrepid coming back to Manhattan. I haven’t uploaded them to the photo blog yet, but Gothamist used one of them last night. I took a lot of them. When I get them posted, I’ll put up a link.

I just came across this interview as one of the editors picks, on Bloomberg, of Jim Rogers of Rogers Holdings on Money and Politics with Peter Cook, voicing his opinion of what the fallout from a bailout plan could entail. I pretty much agree with everything that he says. PS, the DJIA has already gained over half of the ground lost yesterday. The media attributes the gain to speculation of a new rescue package in the works. What do you think?

I normally try to avoid getting too political on this blog. But I feel like this economic rescue package that keeps going the rounds in Washington right now, is an extremely important issue. I feel like this decision will be as pivotal for the future of America as the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. The difference in this case, is that the decision is being made by the legislative branch. Before yesterday, I was convinced that our system of elected officials was all but broken. But after Pelosi’s bill was struck down, I was elated to read that the majority of the hedging parties who eventually voted nay, did so because of the overwhelming correspondence from their constituency, opposing the item. Some of them went as far as to say that they feared voting to pass the measure would prevent them from being re-elected. Wow, could it be that elected representation still works at the federal level? I guess more than anything, this post is to urge people to get involved. Send your House Rep. an email stating your position on the issue. While you are at it, send one to your Senators. If you aren’t sure who your elected officials are, you can look them up at Congress.org, or house.gov. You may need to exercise a bit of patience if you try to send an email through the House website. It is pretty bogged down right now. It actually became so overloaded yesterday that it went offline. Please, no matter where you stand on this issue, don’t just sit on the sidelines and let the economic future of this country be decided without voicing your opinion. [dismounting soapbox].

One of my homies just notified me that the bailout plan didn’t make it through the House. My personal optimism meter just took a large leap into the postive digits. Here for the details.

Even though we had a lot of fun with Reagan’s friend in town this weekend, the weather was totally crappy the entire time. When it wasn’t pouring rain, it was overcast and drizzling. It did lend itself to a lot of good football watching. Go Utes (now 4-0). I made it a point not to read any real news. I did watch the presidential debate though. I am really stressed out about the current mess that we are subject to as citizens of the US. I was particularly disappointed last night when I saw that the terms for a stupid bailout plan had been agreed upon. To me, this is the ultimate vote of no-confidence in the economy, by our federal representatives. Apparently investors feel the same way, judging from the way the market responded to the news, after the opening bell this morning. Don’t worry people. feel free to lend, borrow and irresponsibly overleverage, to your heart’s content. When worst comes to worst, we will swoop in and absolve that debt, by creating more debt, then declare the problem fixed. What to do, what to do (spoken in a half sigh with a tired voice)? Hahahah, and you thought Wolf Blitzer was dramatic. On a positive note, it is no longer raining.

I had to repost this from Animalnewyork.