Links and Minifeatures 2008 09 02 Monday

Carnival of Personal Finance

Carnival of Real Estate

Sing it, sister: Barack Obama: please end our dependence on cheap platitudes about foreign oil

She quite fairly hammers John McCain in anticipation for the same sin, because I'll bet you a nickel he'll commit it. I don't have rose-colored glasses for either major party candidate. I favor John McCain because one of these two men is going to be the next president, and Barack Obama will do far more damage than McCain, by at least an order of magnitude, and John McCain might, if we're lucky, do us some actual net good.

The last time I was this certain of the relative merits of and problems with the two major candidates was 1980, when I voted for Ronald Reagan. I'm almost thirty years older now, and I'm rarely that certain about anything in my late forties. But this is an exception.

"tape 'em all, let YouTube sort it out"

Works for me. For politicians of all philosophies and parties. Anytime they're out in public, a camera can catch them - just like Joe Citizen.

Privacy laws and laws against taping work against the so-called common man, and for the powerful.

In the referenced clip, the two powerful politicians were joking around in public. They may have thought that the citizens around them who could hear were inconsequential. Thanks to webcams and the internet, not so. I would say the exact same thing if it were George W. Bush and Karl Rove and John McCain, and it would force me to re-evaluate my opinion of their character.

And it's more than a little hypocritical of those on the left to condemn this recording when for the past election cycle or two, they've been doing precisely this to the Republicans (Senator Allen's "macaca moment" was the fruit of one such, without which the Republicans would control the senate. Note that I didn't complain then and I'm not complaining now - it was a fair cop, and if I think it got overblown, others don't) Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

Indeed, the left's reaction reminds me once again of what Peter Lorre's character said in "The Raven,": "You coward! You're fighting back!"

There are limits - you shouldn't be recorded without your consent in the privacy of your own home. But rooting out this kind of behavior in any kind of a public setting is a wonderful benefit of modern technology. Kind of a Darwinian "Improve the breed" for politicians - among others.

Obama's answer on experience: But I'm such a great campaigner!

A disastrous development that's been coming for a while: Bell Labs Kills Fundamental Physics Research

I do have one question for the national media "doing their job" by bringing Sarah Palin's family challenges (Which thus far I find to be mostly show her in a good light) of this to our attention: When are you going to "Do your job" and give Barack Obama and Joe Biden the same treatment?

Just off the top of my head, these should be fertile grounds for investigation, most of them criminal investigations, which would disqualify them from office altogether if they should be convicted.

Obama
-Political cronies with William Ayers
-twenty year relationship with Jeremiah Wright
-Ten year realtionship with Tony Rezko
-played along with Chicago's political machine
-secured millions of dollars in earmarks for hospital that hired Michelle Obama

Biden:
-Lobbyist son works for MNBA
-voted yes on bankruptcy reform in accordance with banking industry wishes, rather than recusing himself as would be proper

Is there anyone who does not believe that the national media is openly supporting Obama and the Democratic ticket, while doing everything in their power to undercut McCain, Palin, and the Republicans?