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Another Debate with More of the Same

Joe — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:47:13 +0000

Last night we had another debate between Senators McCain and Obama and it was pretty much more of the same. If you have to declare a winner, I’d have to go with McCain because the format really allowed him to engage with a national television audience in a way that he hasn’t been able to yet. Plus I thought the format really worked against Obama’s strength as a talking point reciter (not that being a talking point reciter is a bad thing, but it’s essentially all that Obama does). But everyone knows how these things go – the media will list Obama as the winner and cite McCain’s inability to slam a homerun during one of the debates.

Thank God I have an independent mind of my own to make up my own decisions! The amount of bias in the media these days is scary.

Anyway, if you really want to declare a winner last night it might have to be Tom Brokaw. Talk about a guy who managed to annoy almost everyone watching by being the only one who was doing his job correctly! That’s got to be a tough position for someone to be in – the straight man between two candidates for Presidents. And was it just me or did Brokaw look extremely white, pale, and aged?

All in all the debate was more bore than anything else. Neither of these candidates is going to put themselves out there and make a major statement during the debates, though McCain almost did with his statement regarding the Treasury buying up all of the bad mortgage debt out there. I am not a fan of this at all – nor am I a fan of this ridiculous bailout (which has so far led to the market falling further).

The real shame of our times is that neither McCain nor Obama have what it takes to fix the economy, yet these are the two choices that we are given. Third party anyone?

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WaMu CEO Gets Major Payout for Failing

Joe — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:03:33 +0000

Amid all of the craziness from the last few days, it seems that not enough people are highlighting the fact the Chief Executive Officer of Washington Mutual is being given a $20 million payout. Seriously, you need to click on that link and see what type of perks this guy got for being hired as the CEO of Washington Mutual – a failed company that will be remembered as the largest bank failure in United States history (for now).

This man’s compensation is disgusting, but not uncommon. Think of all of the professional athletes who get paid millions to play games. There are people all over our society that are overpaid. The difference with this guy at WaMu, though, is that his job is to protect the investments of his investors (i.e. those who have a financial relationship with his bank). This man failed. I don’t care if he only had the job for 17 days. He failed.

And he’s getting $20 million for failing? Where can I sign up for that job?!?

Until I get that lucky, check out Jersey City Locksmith for the best locksmith service in the Garden State!

Michael Phelps – The Most Decorated Olympian Ever

Joe — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:42:23 +0000

Michael Phelps is amazing. This guy has now won more gold medals than any other athlete in Olympic history and he’s still at it! On top of this, he’s set new world records in each race that he’s competed in during this year’s Olympics. How crazy is that?! Imagine if every time you went to work you set a new record for efficiency or for bringing in the most amount of clients, etc. That’s what this guy is doing.

Phelps is a remarkable athlete and I’m glad that he’s on our team. America will likely gear itself up to throw a grotesque amount of praise and adoration on Phelps when he returns home and this is (for once) a situation where it is greatly deserved. This guy makes us all proud. Good work…now keep winning those medals!

Anyway, check out Jersey City Locksmith for the best locksmith service in the Garden State!

A Greener Restaurant Bringing in More Greenbacks

Joe — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:36:40 +0000

Sometime in May I ran across this article which I thought would be interesting to share: Can restaurants go green, earn green? The article talks about the link between a sustainable food service industry and earning profits. It begins by talking about how Ted Turner is moving his Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants towards a greener future. From the article:

…you won’t find a plastic straw or cup in any of Ted’s Montana Grills’ 55 casual dining restaurants. The straws are made from biodegradable paper. The menus are printed on 100% recycled paper. Even the cups are cornstarch.

Cornstarch cups and paper straws? I’m not sold on those ideas just yet.

Anyway, if you get the opportunity try to read this entire article. There are some interesting tidbits in there about the cost of energy for restaurants and the cost of wasted energy for the entire restaurant business. Also, the article talks about some other eco-friendly moves that some food servicers are undertaking. I thought it was an interesting read – I think you will, too.

Anyway, check out Jersey City Locksmith for the best locksmith service in the Garden State!

Convenient Flaws in the Truth?

Joe — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:11:41 +0000

Earlier today I found an interesting little diddy on FOXNews.com regarding some of Al Gore’s assertions in An Inconvenient Truth. The article is written by a FOX News contributor named Steven Milloy who, by all accounts, appears to be a strong conservative in all of his policy and political leanings. So bear that in mind if you choose to go read the article.

This is an interesting post to me because Milloy’s article quotes a British judge who has ruled some of Al Gore’s findings as unscientific. In other words, the judge says there is no science to back up some – not all, but some – of Gore’s claims. There is no discussion of where the judge got his doctorate in environmental science, though…

Later in the article, some legitimate incorrect assertions are detailed and I think those are all known to the public at this point (the wrong date being given for a cigarette advertisement, 2005 NOT being the hottest year on record, there not being a cure for polio, etc). But those are all somewhat moot points (except the one about 2005 not being the hottest year on record – that’s an exaggeration of the truth).

In any event, I fail to see how a judge has the standing to make such decisions. This may be more politics than anything else. Of course, this is all taking place across the pond, so I don’t care about it too much, but I thought some of you folks may find it interesting.

Anyway, try Jersey City Locksmith for the best locksmith service in the Garden State!