Beyond Opinion

That's what Democratic Repr. Joe Crowley said as the roll call board recorded an accelerating number of NO votes on the $700 billion bailout page today, 2008 September 29 and as the Dow Jones average showed down 600 points. House Republicans ignored him. They continued to finger NO on the voting buttons, NO, NO, NO, YES, NO, …

What were they trying to do? Wreck the Country? What would you expect anyway from the Party that Wrecked America?

Yes the bailout plan has flaws, and yes, we need to institute other measures to stem this financial crisis, and we also need to deal with the Bear that stands behind this crisis, Peak Oil. But we were warned that the consequences of having NO measure at all were immense. Destruction of 401(k)'s, unable to get any loans anywhere, getting thrown out of work and unable to pay for college, clothes, or even food for your family were among these consequences.

Yet these House Republicans kept at it, spouting off their free-market rhetoric, even though we know that free-market economics led us straight into the Great Depression of the 1930s. Most of them are under the age of 75, which meant they never knew of the deprivations of that depression. In fact, many are young smart alecks under the age of 50 who know nothing except our present society's predilection for get it tomorrow, get what you want, drive anywhere you please, and get it now, pay later. I urge you to vote against any Republican running for office, especially the House and especially those who voted NO, and to support campaigns against the Republicans, such as the Democratic National Committee. Throw Randy Forbes (Rep, VA) out of office. He voted NO. Eric Cantor (Rep, VA) is probably OK; he voted YES.

So the bill needs to be reconsidered, and now religion gets in the way. (by the way, I urge you to see "Religulous", a new movie opening in theaters this week, starring Bill Maher). September 30 is Tishri 1; i.e., Rosh Hashanah,so they want to put saving the nation's economy on the back burner while the Jewish New Year is celebrated. So it will be Thursday before Congress can get back to it. I am glad to see that recess has been postponed. Fixing this financial mess takes precedence over any political campaign.

So I hope they consider it and then come up with a plan that a majority will vote on. It's either that or maybe the next Great Depression. And then after that and the elections, let's get to work on resolving this thing once and for all, so we can deal with the Peak Oil Bear that lies beyond.

During all these years and years we lived on borrowed money. If you wanted a TV, just charge it. Now all these years of debt are beginning to wreck the world economy. I am not sure what the eventual solution is, but in the meantime we cannot just wreck the economy and cause a second Great Depression. That is why this Federal bailout package has been prepared in Congress. It does not solve the problem, but it does keep things running while we work out a better solution. If it does not pass, the markets will crash, people may lose much of their savings, corporations will not be able to get cash, unemployment will skyrocket, and many other dreadful things will happen. So surely it will pass.

But it may not, because House Republicans, self-righteous about free markets (which are not working now), are trying to block the deal. They are doing nothing less than wrecking our country. That's right, Republicans are the Party that Wrecked America and they are trying to wreck it some more. They are sacrificing the world economy for some piece of Adamsonian free-market rhetoric.

I therefore call for votes against Congressional Republicans all over the place. Do NOT vote for a Republican congressman or senator this November! Don't even vote for Roscoe Bartlett in Maryland's Sixth District, even though he knows more about Peak Oil than anyone else in Congress, unless he agrees to the Federal bailout. If your Republican candidate is unopposed, write in someone. We need at least a 60% Democratic congress so we can shut these country killers up.

As far as the Presidency is concerned, it looks very much like Obama is going to win. McCain is showing himself off to be some sort of blundering goon. He nominates a young, inexperienced small-state governor for vice president, he skips a Letterman show, allowing Letterman to lampoon McCain all over the place, and he does not want to participate in a debate. Already the polls are swinging around against him - Obama is ahead in North Carolina. Yes, vote for Obama, but I take note that perhaps McCain is not one of these right-wing free-market Congressional Republican nutjobs. He is just simply a blunderer.

PS. The expression "Party that Wrecked America" for Republicans is due to Jim Kunstler.

The minor leagues have ended play for the year. Play of baseball, that is. Now they are playing a new game, namely affiliation musical chairs. And what is shaping up is the biggest musical chairs in years, involving six each of Major League and AAA teams. And this gives some hope to Richmond, Virginia. Richmond may yet be able to snag an AAA team, even though its ballpark is substandard. This is because Richmond is not the only AAA city around with a substandard ballpark.

In January, the Atlanta Braves announced that it is moving the Richmond Braves to Gwinnett County, which is a suburb of Atlanta. This is happening, and so Richmond no longer has a ball club. How does Richmond get one? A long-standing problem has been the ballpark, with its uneven and floody field and a stadium that has shown signs of wear.

Despite this, Richmond may be able to get another AAA ballclub anyway. Earlier I had said Richmond should watch the New York Mets, since it does not like having to partner with the New Orleans Zephyrs, since that club is so far. However, the Mets showed an interest in getting Syracuse instead. That's even closer to New York than Richmond. The Syracuse Chiefs are an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. So I said maybe Richmond should watch Toronto.

But what is evolving instead is the biggest free-for-all in years. First of all, the New York Mets have changed their aim and went for the Buffalo Bisons instead, after the Bisons were let go by Cleveland, since they wanted the Columbus Clippers instead. The Clippers were with the Washington Nationals, who now seem to be teaming up with the Syracuse Chiefs, although the deal is not settled yet, which would mean the Toronto Blue Jays have no AAA affiliate. Meanwhile the Florida (to be renamed Miami) Marlins got the New Orleans Zephyrs, so they dropped the Albuquerque Isotopes, who are going for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who abandoned the Las Vegas 51s, leaving that otherworldly team all by itself on Planet Nobody. Now that was a mouthful. And why did these said Los Angeles Dodgers leave the 51s? Because they had an inferior ballpark, that's why. Sound familiar, Richmond?

First of all, let's make a table of the switches:

AAA Team	Were with this Major team	who will now have
Las Vegas 51s	Los Angeles Dodgers	Albuquerque Isotopes
Albuquerque Isotopes	Florida (Miami) Marlins	New Orleans Zephyrs
New Orleans Zephyrs	New York Mets	Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bisons	Cleveland Indians	Columbus Clippers
Columbus Clippers	Washington Nationals	Syracuse Chiefs
Syracuse Chiefs	Toronto Blue Jays	?

It seems like the Toronto Blue Jays will have to settle for the Las Vegas 51s.

But wait. Why did the Dodgers quit the 51s? A bad stadium, that's why. So the Toronto Blue Jays are now stuck with a team that is far away with a bad stadium. So why don't they move the 51s to Richmond? They would still have an AAA team with a bad stadium, but at least it would be much closer. As part of a deal, the Jays would demand that a new stadium be constructed, probably in the winter of 2010. If the team were moved, I would recommend that the name be changed to the Richmond Martins.

There are problems with this deal, though. Richmond does not currently have a franchise, and the Las Vegas community probably owns the 51s. For Toronto to do this, they would have to buy the 51s, then move them to Richmond, which would be in the Pacific Coast League. To fix that problem would require that some PCL team be moved to the International League, or an IL team be moved to the PCL, because a league can't compete with an odd number of teams. But maybe these problems can be resolved, so give it a chance.

Now is the time to act. Richmond, Go for the Jays!

Well now the 2008 Presidential Campaign is off and running! Both candidates have had their conventions, and both have selected their VP running mates. Barack Obama selected experience with his choice of Sen. Joe Biden, and John McCain went off the deep end with his choice for that rootin' tootin' cowgirl from Alaska, Sarah Palin. So how are they doing now?

There are several sites, but the one with the clearest picture in my opinion is Electoral Vote.Com, which uses the most recent poll or polls in each state to give a rating on that state, from solid Republican to solid Democrat. Right now it suggests a close win for Obama, with 281 electoral votes, with 27 votes tied (Florida) and the rest for McCain. If you give Florida, Colorado, and North Dakota to McCain, the result is a 269-269 tie, which would mean that Obama wins, since Congress is going to be Democratic.

The Lichtman Keys to the White House say that Obama will win, with 9 keys down in the same pattern as in 1960. But like 1960, there is a characteristic about Obama, namely that he has African ancestry, which could make this race close instead. In 1960, the characteristic of Kennedy was his Roman Catholic religion.

So how is the campaign doing? Just like the primaries. It's like Alice in Wonderland. Obama talks about putting lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig. The media are really taking off on this one. Apparently he was referring to Sarah Palin's inexperience and perhaps her potential scandals. Someone pointed out that Obama should be going after McCain instead, attacking his platform.

Then there's the bridge to nowhere. That has inspired me to redo the lyrics to the Beatles' "Nowhere Man", changing the title to "Nowhere Girl":

Nowhere Girl

She's a real nowhere Girl,
Going on her campaign whirl,
Making all her words for the
Bridge to Nowhere.

Doesn't have a point to go,
Knows not where it's going to,
Isn't the bridge a bit like You, nowhere?
Nowhere Girl, please listen,
You don't know when you're flippin',
Nowhere Girl, the bridge is at your command.

(lead guitar)

She's as blind as she can be,
Just sees what she wants to see,
Nowhere Girl can you see me at all?

Nowhere Girl, don't worry,
Take your time, don't hurry,
Just drive off that Bridge,
and go nowhere.

Doesn't have a point of view,
Says she's for and then against,
Isn't she a bit like John and George?

Nowhere Girl please listen,
you don't know where your missin'
Nowhere Girl, the bridge is at your command

She's a real Nowhere Girl,
Going on her campaign whirl,
Speaking all her words for the
Bridge to Nowhere.
Making all her nowhere nays
for no bridge.
Making all her nowhere nays
for no bridge.

Seems she said she favors it then she is against it. There was the McCain attack on Biden (he does the same thing, too. He should go after Obama instead.) about his support for stem cell research. But for the most part all the attention is on Sarah Palin, and McCain, Obama, and Biden are taking second seats. This is good, because it will bring up all the imperfections of her, including her two scandals, which could explode under media attack.

Indeed Sarah Palin is a dangerous candidate. She said that troops in Iraq were on “a task that is from God”. That is dangerous! God does not exist, like people exist. If people are like houses, than God is like an unoccupied property. What Sarah Palin did was to occupy that property, with guess who? Dubya himself, George W. Bush. She has just deified the President of the United States and made him God. Now if she should get that position, she would occupy the God seat. In the past, the most notable occupants of the God seat have been totalitarian dictators, who can use the power of God to do what he wants with his or her countrymen. So this implies that Palin could become a dictator. So please keep her out of the White House. Don't vote for her on Election Day. Vote for Obama. The wolves, moose, and polar bears will appreciate your vote.