Tuesday, September 30, 2008

We Didn't Lose $1.2 Trillion

I find it comical how people are talking about the market "losing $1.2 trillion" because the bailout failed. There are even some who are suggesting that we lost more money than the $700 billion we would have spent on the bailout. (Note: There was a specific comment on Yglesias' blog that I intended to link to, but I can't find it anymore).

Newsflash: $1.2 trillion of assets was not destroyed in any meaningful sense. No houses blew up, no food suddenly went "poof!" Nothing was destroyed. What happened is that some people suddenly found that the nominal value of their houses, investments, etc. went down.

In other words, the loss was on paper - and it probably consisted of a loss of value that wasn't real anyway, that is to say that the assets were overpriced.

What is happening here is simply a realignment of the relative value of goods and of who the wealth belongs to - an overdue re-alignment, in my opinion.

That is all.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

More Good News

E-Verify has been continued until March 6 2009, ending the current crisis, although it would be nice to re-authorize it rather than just extend it with a continuing resolution.

Chuck Baldwin will be on an internet-broadcast third party debate on October 9 from 8-11 pm central time (9-12 EST). This will be broadcast on Revolution Broadcasting.

That is all.

Stephen Bainbridge is a Lying Piece of Fecal Matter

After Stephen Bainbridge wrote this, (referenced by Matt Yglesias), I wrote something along the lines of:

Baindbridge's argument is that blacks were not given subprime loans too easily, because their share of subprime loans (16.2%) is about the same as their share of the population (12.4%). But this assumes that blacks are, on average, equally creditworthy as whites (in other words, it is making the same affirmative actiony assumptions that we are attacking). If a smaller percentage of blacks are good candidates for mortgages, then that 16.2% figure starts looking a lot more disproportionate.

This comment was deleted and comments on that post closed.

Bainbridge is a lying coward who cannot stand criticism of his ideology.

And I'm not the only one that Bainbridge wants to shut up.

That is all.

Third Party Debate

If 10,000 people pledge to donate to a moneybomb for a third party debate, Trevor Lyman of Ron Paul moneybomb fame will go ahead to try to put together a debate for all of the theoretically electable candidates (i.e. those on the ballot in states with enough electoral votes to win; i.e. Baldwin, Barr, McCain, McKinney, Nader, and Obama, although McCain and Obama probably would not participate).

If you want to have a third party debate, this is the best way to do it.

Also check out Break The Matrix, who it appears would be video-hosting the debate.

Thanx and a tip o' the hat to Richard Winger's Ballot Access News.

That is all - for now.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

China Stops Loans to U.S. (Maybe)

Uh-oh. It looks like the Federal government may decide simply to man the printing presses pretty soon and to print whatever they need to fund their programs.

I'm beginning to think that economic collapse is a real possibility.

This report may be exagerrated. Time will tell what the truth is.

Thanx and a tip o' the hat to Thoreau at UO.

That is all.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Buck for Chuck

To all who like the Constitution Party -

Today is Buck for Chuck Day, the September 20 moneybomb for the Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin.

Please visit his website and make a donation.

That is all.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Farah: I've Bent Over. Please Give it to Me.

Joseph Farah once again finds a way to sort of endorse McCain, but without really saying so.

Joseph Farah, bending over - again.

That is all.

Ballot Access Maps September 16, 2008

Click here for the ballot access maps.

I'm sorry for not posting them on the site, but PicAttic sitll isn't hotlinking, and I do not have the time to find another image hosting service right now.

As always, my maps are based on Richard Winger's Ballot Access Chart on his Ballot Access News website.

Note: My map contains an error. Nader is on the ballot in Vermont. I will correct it later.

That is all.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

We made it to 270

By my calculations, the Constitution Party is on the ballot in states with an electoral vote total of 295. It will be 304 if we get on in Alabama (the Party has submitted its signatures, and is waiting for the decision), and 325 if the ballot access lawsuit in Pennsylvania succeeds.

We definitely need to do better next time, but at least we made the magic number.

That is all.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Ballot Access Maps Updated September 9, 2008

Due to PicAttic's hot-linking problems, I am posting links to the images that you can click on to see the maps. This will be easier for now. If anyone would like to host these images and let me hotlink to them until the problems are resolved, please let me know.

Click here to see all maps on one page.

Libertarian Party Presidential Ballot Access 2008
Constitution Party Presidential Ballot Access 2008
Green Party Presidential Ballot Access 2008
Ralph Nader Presidential Ballot Access 2008

That is all.

Obama Steals my Line!

Obama says something similar to what I myself have said:

Obama - ""You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig."

Me - "Whatever she may call herself, Palin is less a pitbull with lipstick than she is the lipstick on a pig. And that pig's name is McCain."

Unfortunately, I did not post that on my blog before Obama made his statement, but I can still accuse him of stealing it from me, because I did post it elsewhere.

Of course, Obama was referring to McCain's "change" rhetoric, while i was referring to the meaningless (in practical terms) of McCain's choice of Palin.

That is all.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

More on Augustawell

I recently switched my image hosting from Flickr to PicAttic and am in the process of moving all of my images there. Unfortuantely, PicAttic has been acting up, so updates on the ballot access map may be a little slow, and new posts on Augustawell may be as well. I may replace my hotlinks with "cold" links to the photos on PicAttic so that I can post new stuff and people can see it, although it will be an extra step.

Also, I will be writing Augustawell a little more slowly over the next few weeks than I was during June, July, and early August, as there is a lot more on my plate now.

That is all.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Farah on McCain

Whatever one thinks of Palin, I think Joseph Farah hits the nail on the head as to why McCain must be opposed.

Although I think that whoever is elected this November, we can stop amnesty if we work together.

That is all.

Monday, September 01, 2008

I Remember Her from Way Back When

But not very well.

I just found out that the woman playing Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara in the new G.I. Joe movie (coming next year) is someone I remember from Middle School (specifically I remember her when she was in seventh grade and I was in eighth). I also went to high school with her (well, my sophomore through senior years anyway, she would have been in eighth grade when I was a freshman), but I cannot remember a single thing about her from those days.

That is all.