Despite Rebublican's Best Efforts, the Economy Manages to Improve

The headline says it all.

The Apologists Creed

I believe in one God, but you don't have to
It makes sense to me that there is a God who created the whole universe

If we don't agree, we might have some great discussions
that are more interesting than if we agreed

I believe in Jesus Christ, the son of God, but you don't have to
This is how I can try to relate to God, through knowing his son
But I think God is always calling us and uses whatever ways we respond
so you might relate to God as a Muslim or a Jew or Hindu, or not

I believe in the Holy Spirit, but you don't have to
The Spirit is the life in the universe and I see it in lichens clinging to rocks
and tube worms living near volcanic vents in the ocean
you might think of it as mother earth or the spirit of the wind


I believe you are not going to hell if you don't believe what I do. Why does anyone think they get to decide that? I believe that kind of attitude is one of the main causes of pain and suffering in history (and even now). Maybe if we tried to find similarities among us rather than the differences we'd be a lot better off.

Yeah, we may have differing views of God and that's ok with me and I believe, with God too.

Comments welcome!

Who put your mortgage in the blender?

One of the culprits is MERS - here's Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General, talking about problems with the mortgage market. You will have to endure an ad to get to the story, sorry.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#45081550

I think all 50 state AGs are involved in a lawsuit against large banks and financial institutions. Find out more and don't let them settle for a few billion dollars.

Isn't that an amazing thought? 'a few billion dollars'. This thing is so big that fining people something like one hundred billion dollars seems too small.

The Keystone Pipeline

Here is what I wrote to President Obama about the pipeline that would run from the oilsands in Alberta, Canada to the US midwest.

Keystone Pipeline.

Dear Mr. President,

The Keystone Pipeline has many good and bad points and I won't add to that.

What I do want to say is that if you decide to permit the pipeline, you have a great bargaining chip with Big Oil and big oily congress.

If you decide to build it, make Congress pass some compensating legislation. How about taking the $6 billion giveaway to oil companies and putting it to fund renewable energy?

How about forcing them to pass real job creation legislation such as you have been touring the country to promote?

Keep up the pressure. The Occupy Wall Street and all the other Occupy's are getting the message to people. Did you know there is an Occupy Fairbanks Alaska?

Political Cartoon

Spoiler alert, I can't draw. But I can write those thousand words. Picture Obama (editorial cartoon style Obama) leading a crowd of citizens toward the future but being pushed against by a big elephant (editorial cartoon style Republican elephant with those big pissed off eyes). Got that? Good. Now the caption reads. "It's hard to move forward when you're waist deep in elephant poop."

Dick Deadeye

Dick Deadeye is a sailor in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera HMS Pinafore. He has such a bad name and is so ugly that whatever he says, everyone takes the opposite view. He could say the sun is yellow and get an argument from the rest of the crew.

I bet President Obama feels like Dick Deadeye. Seems like any time he supports a Republican idea, the Republicans immediately hate that idea.

Wait, maybe this is more like Steve Martin in The Jerk when that crazy guy picks him randomly out of the phonebook and starts shooting at him at the gas station where he works. As the guy continues to shoot, Steve hides behind some oil cans but then figures out "he hates those cans!"

No, the Repubs don't disklike their own ideas, they don't want to see anything the President does succeed. Isn't that horrible? Putting politics over the good of the country, especially during this long long recession is unpatriotic. Whatever happened to 'Country First'?

If I did this, I'd be in prison

Here's a 60 Minutes documentary about banks FORGING mortgage documents.  In this video, people admit to signing or notarizing documents they knew were false.  The banks used these to back up their foreclosures on toxic loans when the house of cards fell and they didn't have the paperwork. 

If you or I did this, we'd be in prison so fast.  But is anyone being even investigated by someone other than CBS?  
(I apologige that there are probably ads before the clip)

60 Minutes Video

In this environment, rich people and powerful corporations ALWAYS do just fine, no matter what happens with taxes or governments.

Here's a little gallows humor from the Daily Show -

Daily Show Video