A summation of politics

"Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice."

No matter how much it seems that a politician is out to destroy the world, he or she should always be assumed to be attempting to make the world a "better" place but will usually be wrong in what their assessment of the definition of better.

Henry Paulson

I've been reading more and more about Henry Paulson's idea for the housing market bailout, and I've come to the conclusion that it's a terrible idea for a few reasons.
Firstly, Henry Paulson was the CEO of Goldman Sachs while this whole Mortgaged-backed Cluster Fuck was getting under way, and I just don't think that putting one of the people who was in charge of screwing everything up in the first place should be charged with setting everything strait. Secondly, I don't think that his stated aim of drastically overpaying is the best tactic for solving this problem especially since the whole problem we had when we were drunk on credit was that the credit wasn't being valued accurately. Deliberately miss valuing assets is by no means a way to solve a problem the originally arose from inaccurate asset valuations, and if Henry Paulson thinks that really would be the best solution then I have to refer you back to my first point.

Home again

I just got back from New York. I had a terrific time: I ate too well, I slept to much, and I watched the Cubs clobber the shit out of the Mets.
But I need to sleep right now, because classes start in the morning. My Chinese 380 teacher (Chinese literature in English) must be insane, because I already have an assignment. I guess that's not to strange, but still. Fuck him.
I hope he never reads this, but in case he does read this, I hope he understands that I'm really not happy that I have to do an assignment already. Seriously, fuck him.

New York, New York

Well I'm off to New York in the morning. Home to large rats. Also, I here there's a bit of a rodent problem.

538

When I said about a week ago that Electoral-vote was the most potent tool for following the presidential election, I was lying through my teeth, 538 is clearly a much more powerful electoral predictor.

It is the Economy, stupid.

A top Economist said today that the financial markets are in trouble, that we are running out of solutions, and that, "The levies are not working." Which brings back eerie imagery of Hurricane Katrina. I just hope to god that the next president knows what he's doing, and I know that McCain doesn't.

The Election

I'm finding myself more and more engrossed in this whole "political process." I spend at least an hour a day looking at maps of the US with each state taking a different shade of red or blue just asking myself, "What can I do to make such and such state a lighter shade of red, or make such and such state a darker shade of blue."
It's not because I think those "red-states" (which is actually a concept that I hate, but I have to use it for the sake of communicating effectively) are totally ass backwards. I think that they (generalizations are perfectly acceptable when talking about demographics represented by different colors) honestly believe that having more guns and fewer abortions can in some way make the world a better place. I also believe, whole heartedly, that such a world view totally a completely devoid of the truth.
Would that make me a good politician?

Time Lapse

t- 5 days until I leave for New York
t- 81 days until I'm 21 years of age
t- 6 hours until I'm drunk

San Antonio to harness shit

Even though this is actually a great idea, I still think it would be a terrible place to live.

The Economy? No.

Here someone argues that Sarah Palin is not so much a woman as she is a divisive Conservative mouth piece.

Word to the wise

If you have a friend with whom you always have a running bet with, don't allow said friend see that you have given yourself a Mohawk out of sheer boredom because chances are, your novelty hairstyle will turn into a bet, or become the consequence of a bet.

It took long enough

Now that Southcenter's expansion has been completed (for over a month now) I'd like to welcome all residents of Renton and Kent (and all their sales tax dollars) to come and wine and dine themselves. Parking may be a problem, but there is a valet service.
By the way, what the fuck is a valet service doing in Tukwila. Something isn't right here.

College Football Returns

And as Washington burns Neuheisel plays the fiddle.