Powell and Limbaugh feuding

Rush Limbaugh had a problem with Colin Powell saying that Limbaugh represented everything that was wrong with the Republican Party. I don't know that that is an entirely accurate statement, but there is some truth behind it. Limbaugh represents the views of mostly the extreme right of the Republican party and the farther you go in either direction, right or left, you are bound to exclude more and more people. I always say that I am an independent, but if I really think about it, I gues center-right is right on point. Because republicans lost many seats in this round of elections (House, Senate, and Presidency), they have began to feud with eachother, point fingers and try to really define what the republican party will stand for. I have some advice for both party's. Stay away from any kind of extremism and they will be much better off. I do think the republican party needs to tone it down on some social issues like abortion and gay marriage. Live and let live; if you don't agree with abortions, then don't have one and if you don't believe in same sex marriage, then marry someone of the same sex. I don't believe anyone is qualified to make those decisions for anyone else who is a fully capacitated adult. Other than that, the party is just fine as far as fiscal and defense issues go. Hopefully, one of the big guys reads this...

Fed Cuts Key Rate

Ben Bernanke, who is the chairman of the Federal Reserve, announced that the Fed would use "all avialable tools", and take unprecedented measures to ensure that lending does not come to a screeching halt, which would devastate our economy. The Federal funds rate, or inter-bank lending rate, was reduced more than expected to between 0-.25%, the lowest in history. The Fed also announced that it does plan to purchase upwards of $600 billion of direct debt from Freddie and Fannie to help increase the amount of lending they are able to do. Investors loved this news and it showed when the DOW climbed just over 350 points in afternoon trading. This is good news also for average consumers, becuase right now lending is still pretty tight; if Freddie and Fannie are able to charge very low rates, they would force other banks to also begin lending or face going out of business. Lending at similarly low rates would be the only way banks could stay competitive. Hopefully this all unfolds sooner than later.

GM continues to adjust while their bailout is stalled

GM announced a cut in production of 250,000 vehicles for the first quarter of 2009 and also that several production plants throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico would remain closed for the entire month of January. GM reported that sales for November are down 41% and it is doing all it can to keep the lights on until some kind of financial assistance is given to General Motors. The factory workers who will be temporarily laid off can continue to receive a portion of their salary from GM and will also need to file for unemployment benefits from the states. Good luck with that because states receive their income from various sorts of taxes such as sales taxes which are down, and property taxes which are also down or not being paid at all in many cases. Hopefully everything works out for the best for the workers; The company's on the other hand need to get it together now. Efficiency is key for these companies because the way lending has tightened up, the amount of potential buyers has seriously dwindeled.

Playboy cover very controvercial in Mexico

The popular men's magazine is under fire in Mexico after choosing to place an almost naked girl with only a shawl/blanket covering her (resembling the Virgin Mary) and placing her next to a stained glass window. During the month of December (the 12th) they celebrate the Virgins "day" as she is one of the most popular religious icons in Mexico. Under the picture were the words, "Te adoramos Maria" translated to, " We Love/adore you Maria." Playboy, insisted that the model on the cover is really named Maria, but the damage was done. I think it would probably be a good idea to avoid defacing religious icons for any business that needs people to buy their products. At the end of the day, I'm sure everything will work out fine for the magazine, cause their base (mostly men) is sure to be more forgiving than the clergymen and women who were offended.

The Remains of Caylee Anthony may be found

On December 13th a utility service worker found a black trash bag in a wooded area. When he picked it up a small human skull rolled out and that reignited that spark that this case desperately needed. The mother of missing toddler Caylee anthony, Casey Anthony was been in jail on murder charges for over a month now and all the while has maintained her innocence and even that her missing child, who she neglected to report missing for over 1 month, was still alive. As of right now, all though almost everyone who has been involved in this mysterious case has a gut feeling that the remains do belong to the young toddler, the state has maintained that until a positive ID can be made, they will not speculate as to who they have found. This has also barred the defense team from having their experts present during autopsy and DNA testing preformed on the remains. It is a sad story because the grand-parents have remained by their daughter's side and because of that, have been treated like criminals by many people and even some media. What can you expect parents to do; they want to hold out hope for their daughter. This new development in the case has come as a strong blow to the Anthony family, who was desperately hoping the young toddler was still alive.

Biggest Ponzi Scheme EVER!!!!!!!

On December 11, 2008 FBI agents showed up unannounced at the door of New York money manager Bernard Madoff, and arrested him for leading the biggest Ponzi scheme in Wall Street history in which he blew about $50 BILLION of investors' money. Just as puzzling, it all came crashing down when Madoff confessed to family members what he had done, that he was sure he was going to jail, and that he wanted to hand out the remaining 2-3 hundred million he had to family, friends, and employees. Following this confession, his own family hired a lawyer and then tipped off regulators as well as the FBI. This is yet another stain on the already damaged reputation of the financial industry in America, especially that of hedge funds. Hedge funds have remained un-regulated in the financial services industry and have been involved in one way or another in every scandal that has taken place in Wall Street. Once more, in a time when America's future and our ability to remain as a super-power depends heavily on foreign investment, we can not allow these kind of people to walk around freely. I heard a comedian say a while back that they were more frightened to walk through a corporation than the ghetto; "If I walk through the ghetto and get robbed, they might take what I have on my person, but I have never walked through the ghetto and been robbed of my future!!!!!"

President Bush receive's a "unique" welcome

At a press conference with Iraqi Prime minister Al-Maliki, a man in the crowd hurled two shoes at the president in a show of resentment to comments made during that meeting when President Bush announced that after almost 6 years, "The war is not over."
I wanted to write about this story because it is a very sad situation. President Bush's will forever be remembered by a questionable win for the presidency against Al Gore, and a very unpopular war in Iraq. I realize that his decision to invade Iraq when he did was very premature to say the least, but I can't help but wonder what history will teach us in maybe 40 years or 50 years. I am pretty sure that when President lincoln freed the slaves he was pretty unpopular, or that when schools in America were desegregated in the 50's, that was an unpopular decision as well. I am not trying to justify what has happened; I am only saying that before we begin to disrespect the leader of the free world, we should really look at what is going on. I am also not saying that we have to agree with everything that our leaders say or do. In America we cherish our right to free speech and can respectfully voice our concerns or disagreements when we choose to. In fact, I bet the man who threw the two shoes at President Bush didn't even stop to think that he could not have done that a few years ago. Opposition to Sadaam Hussein meant certain extermination; not anymore.