The-Asterisk

For the past several days, the huge topic in the Twittersphere (at least the precinct that I hang out in) has been getting Ron Paul, Gary Johnson and Virgil Goode voters to shift over to voting for Romney this November. The argument is that a vote for either of those men will be a defacto vote for Barack Obama. One need look no further than the Ross Perot vote in 1992 to realize that Ross Perot gave us Bill Clinton for eight years. That is a fact. Americans are typically not sell-outs (don't get me started about Middle Eastern foreign policy.) As a rule, we make up our minds and stick with it through thick and thin. How else can you explain unwavering devotion to the Chicago Cubs? Along comes a primary season before a Presidential election. Your guy gets in there and mixes it up with the other candidates, the weak ones drop early, but the strong ones hang on, often staying in the race until the convention. At the convention the eventual winner is anointed, usually with vote...

Here is a quick tale of two homeowners... There are two houses on the same street. Both were built in the same year and both were identical houses. The first house has been owned by Joe for five years. It was a decent house when Joe got it, but Joe has neglected his home, choosing to spend his money on lottery tickets and having a good time. Joe has several kids still at home, but he never makes them mow or do anything around the house. Each year, his home is assessed at an ever decreasing value, meaning that his property tax bill decreases, even though property taxes are primarily used to fund public education for kids like his. The second house was owned by Joe's brother who was an even bigger loser than Joe and he was finally foreclosed out of his house after three years of effort by the bank. Even though the house was just like Joe's when he bought it, he took care of it even less than Joe did. When he lost his job at the mill, and the bank started to foreclose on his m...

Today is the day that President Obama gives his acceptance speech at the Democrat National Convention. Driving home, listening to the POTUS channel (ch 124) on XM Radio (yes, I am hopelessly a political geek), I hear the Foo Fighters complete a song at the DNC and then a video comes on the big screen.  From the sound of it, there are about six or seven people talking about what America is to them. A land of hope and dreams, a land where you are one paycheck away from financial destruction, one illness away from bankruptcy, and a land where there is infinite possibilities if only there is help to get to the promised land. While hearing that, I am thinking to myself, what is wrong with all of that? Then one of the speakers blamed President Bush for an all-out assault on the middle-class. Tax cuts for the millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the hard-working, broken-back (not broke-back) middle class workers. Through the gauzy music and the misty eyes, I start feeling li...