Me, me, me! and “Greed is Good”?

Don’t pretend to be a financial expert. Just read the news. This is a moment in history and it comes with both risk and opportunity. For financial traders on Wall Street, there is risk. What happens if my investments falter? How much will I lose? How can I protect myself? For the rest of us, there is simple common sense and good neighborliness. How can we work together? How can I help you?

To the company that would add another fee or surcharge to preserve profits?  Cut it out. You don’t need it and we cannot afford it. To that person who can offer a helping hand? Good for you. We are in this together.

Aw, Come on now…

OK, so tomatoes from someplace or other made 1,000 people sick with Salmonella. Where? Not sure, but what’s a big Mac or a taco without them? And now? In their continuing search for food demons, the pointy finger of suspicion is turning to — are you ready? — Jalapenos. What? Jalepenos?  Really? What’s next, Popsicles?

Take it to the bank…

At last count, the Democratic national convention was running about $11 million short of the $40.6 million needed to stage the event. Candidates and their staffs eat, travel and party like rich people while normal Americans stay at home and worry about keeping warm next winter.  The campaign for the White House has consumed is consuming and will consume huge quantities of money. Question: So when, exactly, did politics get to be all about spending money instead of solving problems and running the country?

Hardly any at all…

Stumble around and find a website. I found one the other day claiming the benefits of exercise. Follow these steps to 100 pushups… etc. Not a bad idea probably but then I noticed they site also sells logowear, t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, caps and buttons. That’s OK too. But whoever built the site decided to stamp “Made in the USA on the products. Well, on three of the products. In all, the web site has 26 items for sale. Three stamped “Made in the USA. Now that IS sad, don’t you think?

The true colors of Republican…

Desperation showing so soon,  Senator John McCain has put a veteran of President Bush’s 2004 campaign in charge of day-to-day operations.  A guy named  Steve Schmidt — who worked closely with Karl Rove — is now runnoing things at Mr. McCain’s headquarters, the New York Times reports. The move of Mr. Schmidt is the latest sign of increasing influence of veterans of Mr. Rove’s shop in the McCain operation.

They were winners eight years ago. And we are the losers. These are the guys behind the guys who brought us gasoline and oil prices, who let Big Oil pocket billions are our expense and who gave us a devalued dollar and a war in Iraq.  That’s some track record. And they want to keep it going?