Now this would be a Bailout

So yesterday at the airport I overheard a passenger with one of my co-workers ranting about this $700 billion, or rather now $850 billion bailout. He was mentioning a scenario where if the government hadn't bailed out the institutions that got us in this mess and rather had given that money to the taxpayers, we all would have ended up with about $500,000/ a piece. I haven't checked his math, nor do I fully understand the logic how he came up with this number, but it is interesting to think about. If they gave this money to the American people, who could then buy there homes outright and pay off their bills, including all those ugly bad loans, pay off their cars, get back what they had lost in the stock market and with their retirement 401k's, and then some would surely buy back into companies stocks, and we then might be just fine. There's a lot of scenarios that come to mind about this whole concept and even though it wasn't an option, I've thought a lot about it.

And yes, you know that not everyone would use the money wisely. There's a lot of dumbshits (excuse the appropriate phrase) out there who, upon receiving $500,000 would likely blow it, instead of paying off or buying what they'd really need. But as they would do this, they'd still be putting the money back into the economy boosting it from almost every industry. And yet how would it work, if they had selected this option- should they just send money to every head of household or every tax payer? Would it depend on your tax bracket status to begin with? If you are a couple, both working, that's $1,000,000, again according to the unknown math of the passenger. But just think of it. That would relieve a lot of financial pressure, everyone would have the opportunity to buy their home outright and live the american dream in a million different ways. No one would care about the price of gas either. I guess it would open the flood gates of immigrants to become citizens even more, but if this was a one time payout, then it would be done and we'd all pledge allegiance to the flag, and sing cumbiyah (sp?), and EVERYONE would love George Bush, (for once) and congress and we'd accomplish very quickly bi-partisanism that they always talk about having.

And then, yes, at the end of the calendar year we all would enter a completely different tax bracket, which brings up all sorts of further questions and scenarios that are too countless to mention. But isn't it an interesting thought?

Alright, now- WAKE UP BACK TO REALITY. Instead, No one thought of the average American citizen (that's you and me) this way. No one wanted to invest in America this way, Uncle Sam still wants to make money again after all of this is said and done, (even though we owe China in umpteen billions for everything). So I guess we're back to just working hard and paying a lot of taxes for that American dream and maybe the chance to retire before we're physically incapable of working, and pretending that we're bi-partisan again as a united country. I just don't believe that in this outcome that we all stood "United" with passing this bill under duress and now affecting the rest of the world's markets too. Maybe we'll all wake up from this nightmare and Bill Clinton will still be president. If not, we need another Boston Tea party. :-)

Iron Jawed Angels

This is my favorite movie and is the reason I will vote in three weeks and the rest of my life. No one should take their right to vote for granted. Every woman needs to see this movie too.


And one more great scene-

Please don't say this!

Happy birthday Family!

October is a huge birthday month in my family and I just want to do a post on my family members celebrating this month.


1. Lily May is the 8th child in our family. She was born on October 4, 1979. I always remember this day because it is one of my best friend’s birthday too and it’s our sister-in-law’s (Brooke) and my cousin in Scotland (Lisa Blair’s) birthday. I was 11 years old when Lily was born, I took care of her a lot. She and I have become very close because I took care of her so much when she was young. She now has a great husband, Shawn and 4 dang cute kids- Gavin, Dallin, Maile, and Brooks. I love you, Lily. Lily is named after my mother, Lilias, and her grandmother Lilias Bellingham, and a few other generations long. Lily wasn't too excited as a child to be her mother's namesake. I remember when that changed. When Me and my sister, Yvonne, went to Scotland in 1993 to again see our grandmother and mom's siblings, I came back and told Lily all about her grandma and how funny and wonderful she was and how lucky Lily was to be given that name. She seemed to catch on after that. You are the best Lily, or as Don likes to refer to you lovingly, Slog. :-)




2. This is my Mom, Lilias, today (Oct. 7th) is her birthday. She is a very young 63 today. My Mom and Dad came to South Carolina recently to be with me and Joni and we had a great time. I was thinking that I don’t ever remember a time where I had both my Mom and Dad without any of the other family around. I mean, I love my family, but it was just a special circumstance where I got to have them all to myself and I love them both so much. My mother is a Scottish lassie from Falkirk, Scotland. She used to dance the highland fling and catch every man’s eye in town. She is a very good Mom and the older I get the more I respect her unique set of challenges to be where she is today. My dad caught her eye and her altogether, and they’ve been married now for 44 years.



3. This is Yvonne (#2 in our family). Her birthday is October 10th. She is two years older than me and is someone truly special to me. When you’re close in age, you may not always be close but Yvonne and I have always had a pretty good relationship. Sure, we fought at times growing up- but who doesn’t? The older I got, the more I wanted to stay close to her. She was the first person in my family who I trusted and “came out” to and she loved and accepted me anyway. She and I have a lot in common. One is that we’re both very musical both vocally and having played in the high school Symphonic band and Orchestra at Mountain View. She really hates to be talked about but she is one of the smartest people in our whole family by far. She got a music scholarship to Weber State University and later graduated with her Bachelors in Respiratory Therapy and then later her MBA from University of Phoenix. She is an excellent mother of two to Malin, and A.J. and is one of my best friends on earth. Love you, Yvonne and happy birthday on the 10th.


4.Don is 4 years younger than I am. He, along with my brother Ben and I, used to pal around the neighborhood playing anything and everything we could find. We used to play this thing where I was Jim (don’t laugh), Ben was Joe, and Don was Bobby and we were three brothers who did everything from hunting to going to restaurants together and whatever else popped into our brains (the imagination of youth). Don is married to Rae and they have a daughter, Belle, who is so cute. Sure love ya, Don and happy birthday on the 11th.

The House is on the Market!

Hey everyone, We have our house up for sale now. Of course with the market and economy we'll see how quickly this happens but we believe it will happen sooner rather than later with the pool and hot tub and all. Surely some retirees with cash will want it. Plus it's in a very coveted area because of the school district. The high school in this area is the #1 ranked boys high school football in the country. They are Byrnes high school. So hopefully, if we keep your fingers crossed we will sell quickly so we can get back home to Utah in time to enjoy the ski season in the Wasatch mountains. I gotta hit those slopes you know. :-)
If anyone knows of anyone in the Spartanburg area looking for a home to buy, let 'em know.

Naturally 7

Joni and I went to Michael Buble' concert last night, which was amazing. The video here is an a ccapella group who opened for Michael Buble'. They sing every part of the music and all instruments and were just totally amazing. This was the best song and Youtube just happened to have the video of them demonstrating this. These guys are from New York. Enjoy

Can Sarah Palin do it tonight?

I don’t know about this debate that’s supposed to happen to night between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. I’m scared for Sarah Palin, blubbering on the national stage and although I wouldn’t vote for her anyway, I still just feel bad for her because she is a likable person, but for the office which she aspires, she’s too stupid to risk having her run the country should McCain actually get in office and die thereafter. Sarah Palin had a grand entrance at the convention and became wildly popular but her face time in front of the few media outlets that she’s been allowed, has been utterly disastrous. I hate that a woman is on this ticket, who will likely fail. I also don’t like how the media and everyone is really socking it to her, seems a little sexist and extreme compared to others of past. I do, however, love the Tina Fey impersonation on SNL and everytime I see Palin, I think of Tina Fey “…and I can see Russia from my house.” 

I found this article on Bloomberg.com that was pretty good that I thought I’d post.




Palin May Find the Bubba Vote Isn't Enough:
Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Just as every Super Bowl is going to be the game of the century, tonight's face-off between Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden is touted as settling once and for all, well, nothing. History tells us that no one but family members cast votes for vice president.
This one should matter, given that the next president may be a 72-year-old, four-time cancer survivor who lately is behaving more like a cocky fighter pilot than captain of the ship of state. Palin could be president on Day Two, Three or Four, before she had time to learn on the job, if such learning is possible.
Palin with a prepared text on a large stage does fine. Without a script, not so fine. Expectations for her at the debate in St. Louis are at about curb level because of some rocky interviews. The press complains that John McCain's handlers have kept Palin in a cocoon when actually she's been spending every waking minute with Katie Couric, an inexplicable decision whose proponent may be looking for other work now.
No matter what Palin does tonight it may not erase the impression left by Tina Fey and You Tube clips of Couric patiently asking, ``Can you be specific?'' without success. Many of Palin's answers floated a familiar noun (experience, reform, terrorists, maverick) untethered to an object or verb, let alone a principle or a policy.
Just a routine question about what Supreme Court rulings she disagrees with other than Roe v. Wade set Palin off on a winding highway. ``There's, of course, in the great history of American rulings, there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know going through the history of America, there would be others.'' And that's just the half of it.

Sizing Up Russia
Surely, Palin knows that proximity to Russia as a basis for foreign-policy experience is laughable. Yet here is her explanation: ``As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States... it's from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there next to our state.''
The performances have been so poor that several conservative pundits have said she isn't prepared for the job. Columnist Kathleen Parker suggested she step aside and cite the need to spend more time with her family, a claim that would ring truer for Palin than for most politicians who've used it.
Palin isn't likely to perform similarly in tonight's highly structured format. She's shown she can deliver zingers at earlier debates in Alaska. Even if the setting by a creek in Arizona seems low-key, the coaching has been intense by McCain's team. Their stated goal is to let Sarah be Sarah, to get her off ill- fitting talking points and on to even greater generalities like freedom, strength, prosperity, fairness.
Play the Refs
In case she bombs, the campaign has an excuse ready. Although the campaign signed off on PBS's Gwen Ifill well after it was known she has a book on race and the '08 campaign coming out in January, aides now contend that renders her a poor choice to moderate.
And let's not forget that Palin is personable, especially to Wal-Mart Moms. I'm more a Target Mom but I'd like to go shopping with her. In a Marist poll, 65 percent found her more likeable than Biden.
She described her constituency in an interview with radio host conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt: ``It's time that normal Joe Six-Pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency.''
No disrespect for Joe -- my family's full of them -- but were Palin asked to spell ``cat'' and miss by two letters, the ``base'' would likely love her more.
Winning Bubba's Heart
But Palin isn't just winning the Bubba vote. She's won Bubba himself, Bill Clinton.
Part of the explanation is that a two-term Barack Obama administration makes a Clinton restoration almost impossible. Women age in dog years, and Hillary Clinton will be 69 times seven in 2016. The other is that Bill likes Palin's type. He's spoken excitedly of her (``I come from Arkansas, I get why she's hot out there''), but in a barely audible monotone regarding Obama.
Perhaps the endless two-ways with Couric weren't a mistake. They deflected attention from McCain's sputtering: The economy is sound. No it isn't. The only way to save the country is to ``suspend'' his campaign, except for a few interviews and a New York photo-op before arriving 22 hours later at the White House to save the plan he was too busy to read.
Debate? Not without getting a bailout deal. No Deal? OK, just kidding. Back to Washington from Ole Miss because it's not right to ``phone it in.'' Arrive and spend the weekend phoning it in from his Arlington, Virginia, headquarters. To top it off, take credit for getting emergency legislation passed just before it didn't.
Tending to the Elite
Yesterday McCain said he's pleased Palin doesn't appeal to the ``Georgetown cocktail party person who calls themselves conservative,'' that her not going to Harvard ``is a plus.'' George W. Bush proved this can be a winning tactic.
Bush quietly made the elite more so by tending to their economic interests while playing up his love for Nascar Dads and barbecue. As long as you drop your g's, you can be way wealthier than Wal-Mart patrons (the Palins earn more than $200,000 a year) as long as you aspire to the same cultural class.
Obama's problem isn't only that he's black, it's that he speaks like the detached, analytic law professor he was.
With people's jobs, houses and retirement at stake, the elitist strategy might not work this time. After eight years of Bush, we may want to vote for the smart one this time, no matter where he shops.