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An Obama/Biden Prediction

Okay, I hit my head on the shower door this morning and had a vision of the future that I thought I’d share with you, just for fun.

Let’s assume that Barack Obama is presently thinking (in light of the Palin wave) that he made a dreadful political mistake in NOT choosing Hillary Clinton for the number two spot and would now like to rectify that error.

Here are three things we know for sure:

1. Biden has been strangely quiet for a few days. 
2. Obama is having a meeting with Bill & Hillary for undisclosed reasons. 
3. Biden said publicly yesterday, “Hillary probably would have been a better choice.”
   

Here’s my prediction for what may occur in the next few days:

Biden will announce that he is voluntarily withdrawing from the ticket “for the good of the party.”  This will protect both his honor and Obama’s honor (though I believe the idea will not have come from Biden).  Hillary will then be named to the number two spot to pull the independent female electorate back away from Palin.

I see two things that could keep this from happening:

1. Hillary may refuse.  After all, as it is, she can run again in four years.  If she joins the ticket she will likely have to wait eight. 
2. Obama’s advisors may talk him out of it, seeing a danger of such a move backfiring by giving the Republicans ammunition for attacking his judgment and decision-making ability. They may also warn him that such a move would even be too jarring for his base.

Five Simple Ways to Avoid Foreclosure

One of the "talking points" of the left wing is the need for government to take better care of those who are hurting financially.  What they fail to mention is that much of the higher corporate taxes they propose to address such issues will go into the hands of many Americans who are hurting as the result of their own irresponsibility (dare I say stupidity?).  Talked about most frequently is the need to offer mortgage assistance to those who can't afford their mortgage payment.

Perhaps a better alternative to increasing taxes on business which will result in even more jobs being lost, we should return to the common sense approach to mortgage management.  Here are five profound ways to avoid experiencing foreclosure and requiring a government rescue:

1.  Take the time to learn about mortgages, interest rates, and your local housing market.  When you sign a mortgage you are making a promise to repay what is likely to be the largest amount of money you've ever borrowed.  Don't sign stupid.

2.  Purchase a home you can afford.  I know, this is complicated (geez).  You should buy a home that will allow you to make your mortgage payments, stay current on all of your other financial obligations, AND put money into savings each month.

3.  Never, never use an "Adjustable Rate Mortgage" or "Interest Only Mortgage" to get a lower payment.  This eliminates budget predictability and puts your financial well-being into the hands of the Federal Reserve which, by the way, is accountable to no one.

4.  Don't use the equity in your home for luxuries or pleasure.  Leave your equity alone.  It is likely your largest pool of savings and should only be used for crisis situations.  Many people facing foreclosure today are in that situation because they squandered their equity on vacations, plasma televisions, and other frivolous expenditures.  If you want a vacation or plasma television, save for it.  Don't spend stupid.

5.  Keep the equivalent of six months earnings in an emergency savings account to be used only if you lose your job.  If you followed step 2 properly, you should have been able to save every month.   Don't use it for vacations or plasma televisions.  It is your safety net to keep your bills paid should you lose your job.

I know that people do find themselves financially debilitated by unexpected and catastrophic events.  But I believe that many of America's economic and social problems could be solved without the heavy hand of a large federal government that takes from the rich and gives to the poor, if people were simply taught to use their brains and apply common sense to the living of their lives.

The Unsinkable Palin?

A few months ago, while watching her being interviewed on the Glenn Beck program, I thought to myself that Sarah Palin could be the Vice President that would restore some of my confidence in the Republican Party.  Needless to say, I was delighted to hear of her being chosen for the ticket.  My confidence in her has been bolstered by the disgusting attacks of the liberals as their subhuman attacks upon her family betray that they are frightened by this woman who offers them no legitimate bait for attack.  She has been more completely scrutinized and attacked by the libs and mainstream media over the last five days than Obama has been since launching his campaign.

I looked forward to her speech, wondering if she would be able to deliver the goods and watching for weaknesses.  I saw none.  And now today I learn that midway through the speech her teleprompter malfunctioned and she winged the second half.

As the speech drew to a close I thought to myself, "I'm not just watching a vice presidential candidate.  I'm watching the first female president of the United States."  Hopefully she will prove to be as unsinkable as I perceive her to be.

Hype: The Obama Effect

Obama; The Anointed One

The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organization with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.

And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the appointed year, the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the light unto all the world.

He traveled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the Taleban had harboured the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror on all the world.

And the Child spake and the tribes of Nato immediately loosed the Caveats that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and the threat of terror was no more.

From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy it.

And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.

And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy plowshares.

From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through the gate seated on an ass. The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet.

In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long enmity and lived for ever after in peace.

As word spread throughout the land about the Child's wondrous works, peoples from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites.

And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the Child's journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over.

The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one generations had been waiting for.

And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall, spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again.

Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it.

And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.

Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length.

But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for him.

And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes. And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets.

Thence he traveled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with the Child, but he was tempted not.

On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One.

And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: “Yes, We Can.”

Gerard Baker; TimesOnline