I had a morning rant for breakfast

Well I'm pissed at myself this morning.

I am so forgetful.

Monday I attended a luncheon to honor all the judges of Hamilton County. I told my boss I'd make a CD of all the photos I took and take it to the executive director of the bar association so she could sort through them and pick out her favorites. (My deadline for the photo selection is tomorrow.) Today – Thursday – he asked if I'd done that. Of course, I forgot.

Yesterday, I offered – on behalf of my office – to buy a sympathy card for the publisher of my paper, whose mother died. I forgot.

Today, for lunch, I told my wonderful roommate to invite her friend to lunch with us – my treat. I purchased a $50 gift certificate for $25 a few months ago to a restaurant downtown. I'm supposed to be writing my column on it this week, and it would be fun to have a girls' lunch and spend it all in one sitting.

I got my tote bag out of the car – the front pocket of which has been home to said gift certificate for the whole three months I've owned it – and it's gone. I've ransacked my desk, my laptop bag, my purse, my tote bag. Nothing. I'm sure I took it out and put it somewhere important, only I've forgotten where that somewhere is.

Why is it that I have all these great ideas – these wonderful, thoughtful, fantastic ideas – and then I always find a way to screw them up?

Granted, I'm probably being melodramatic. I know that's my tendency and I embrace it. But I don't care.

I realize these three things don't seem like a big deal. But they are. To me. because they were totally in my control and I effed them up by not writing them down on a list or in a calendar somewhere.

(This is where the blackberry I want so bad would come into play, if only I had one.)

I think that's one big problem we all face, though, is figuring out what we're in control of and what we're not. A million things pop into my mind as I type this… should I get into it? Oh, why not… the election is over. I might as well spill my guts now.

I have had about all I can take with this economic bailout. This is one very obvious thing the government thinks it can control, but can't. (At least to me and a lot of other intelligent, logical people I know.)

Let's break this down to the commonly-known facts. We'll start with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

When the Clinton administration ran the world, the economy "boomed." Does anyone know why? Because the business industry became so deregulated. Do we know what that means? They took away the rules – the standards to which corporations were held. Democrats (and I mean this in the most loving, caring way) wanted everyone in the country to have a fair chance at wealth - a fair chance at becoming a homeowner and "living the American Dream." So they deregulated the housing industry… and by doing so, they inadvertently made it acceptable for people to be dishonest.

Do you realize? Banks were accepting "stated incomes" on loan applications. People were walking in to get mortgages, telling banks they made $200,000 a year and the banks were giving them loans without proof of income. These people's mortgage payments were then set at $2,000 a month, which they could not afford.

AND NOW THEY'RE IN FORECLOSURE AND OUR GOVERNMENT IS BAILING OUT THE BANKS WHO ARE SUFFERING AS A RESULT OF IT.

I'm sorry people, but I don't get it. Yes, I agree 100 percent that the fuckers who administered these loans should be fired – even jailed. As a matter of fact, in the fall of 2001, there was a nationwide federal sting operation in place to arrest each and every one of these crooks who were lying on the loan applications.

But then guess what happened – September 11.

And guess what would have happened, had Bush continued to focus on the housing industry instead of the war on terror – his ass would have been impeached.

You know it. Don't deny it. You'd have had his head on a silver platter if he hadn't infiltrated the Middle East and produced something – even if it was just Saddam's head on a platter.

So now, here we are – dealing with all these problems that are so obviously Bush's fault… only they aren't. In reality, we're dealing with things that are direct results of the CLINTON ADMINISTRATION people.

Don't get me wrong – I liked Clinton. Granted, when he was in office I didn't know anything about politics. I voted for him in my high school election and had no clue why my dad called me an idiot. (He loves me, I swear. He's just a no-holds-barred kind of conservative.)

And now, here we are. It's 2008. Another liberal has been elected to office and what are we hearing on the news? A proposed bailout for the automobile industry is on the table.

REALLY?

What are we teaching ourselves here? It's OK to make bad decisions because the government will do whatever it takes to clean up the shit trail you leave behind?

Do you know where this money is coming from? This money for the bailouts? Our country has an ENORMOUS deficit. That means we have more debt than money…. Get it? So where is this bailout money coming from?

The government is going to print trillions – yes TRILLIONS of dollars with NOTHING TO BACK IT UP. So, as we sit here and wallow in self-pity because our housing and automobile industries are crumbling, our gas prices are fluctuating and no one will help us, our government is cooking up bright ideas to "save" the economy. And those "bright ideas" include printing WORTHLESS MONEY.

And we wonder why the American dollar is losing value?

If I went home tonight and printed a trillion dollars of my own, how much do you think it would be worth? Geez…..

I guess if I'm going to bring this rant back full circle, I have to say that the government needs to realize this – THERE IS NO WAY TO FIX THE ECONOMY.

Economy, by definition, is a system of exchange and distribution, of buying and selling, of highs and LOWS. As horrible as things seem to be right now, there is no need to panic. As gas prices – and therefore food prices – come down, we will slowly start pumping money back into the economy. Cars will start to sell again.

Now that the housing industry is re-regulated, only people who can AFFORD homes are qualifying to buy them. Slowly but surely, the housing market is picking up again.

I'm worried about the state of our nation – not because we are in a recession right now. The word "recession" doesn't even scare me. It's a natural slope to the (as my ACCOUNTANT roomie Meghan puts it) "unhealthy peak" we've been enjoying for so many years now. SHIT HAPPENS!

What scares me is having a people-pleasing, liberal government who tries to put a VERY EXPENSIVE, UNREALISTIC bandaid on a problem that will fix itself if we just let it.

I would honestly love to hear thoughts on all this. I am truly intrigued by people who don't agree with, or at least appreciate, these views.

I am not a diehard Republican. Hell, I'm not even a Republican. I'm a registered Independent.

I won't even say I'm conservative. I'll just say this - I like to think for MYSELF, in my own logical way, not based on what a party tells me to believe.

And I think logically and can honestly say that a LOT of people in the highest offices of our country obviously don't.

Thoughts?

I'd especially like to hear from Obama supporters. Especially you, Howze. My aforementioned roommate is one of you guys. And she shares all the views about which I just ranted.... so there!

And don't get me wrong... I like Obama. I think he's great. His family reminds me of a modern-day Huxtable family and I am literally ALL FOR the Huxtables running the country.

But seriously though, I really want to know what ya'll think. Comment. Let me know.

Peace out, yo.

ox