Randi Rhodes

I have to confess, Randi Rhodes is my first choice when it comes to getting the news. She is not afraid to say anything to anyone and says it eloquently in the worst type of way. But her image has been marred due to a recent scandal in which she calls Hillary Clinton a whore. This precipitated her being fired from Air America Radio, and I believe this was was a setback from freedom of speech. Before supporting Obama, I was a die hard Hillary fan (even more than Randi) and I found the comments to be in bad taste, if not offensive. But she had a right to say it and she should not be punished for having done it. It makes Randi who she is, a political animal. We ought to really asses the pros and cons before we decide to shun someone like we have Randi, John Edwards, and Elliot Spitzer and asks ourselves how is it that we are better than them? Because if we shun them for making human mistakes, we better be ready to become morally superior, super ethical humans or call ourselves hypocrites.

Immigration reforms

It is unfortunate to see this country be purposely inefficient when it comes to solving the problem of illegal immigrants. Politicians and big corporations want the status quo to remain since it greatly benefits those in power, but the truth is that while worthless immigration bills are discussed in the U.S congress, thousands of people just like you and me are leaving everything they ever had behind in order to provide bread and water for their families and themselves. Immigration reform in this country has been slow and will continue to be until all responsible parties admit responsibility for their part in this dysfunctional vicious circle of corporate greed, exploitation, and remittances. Comprehensive immigration reform is possible, but for that to occur it is imperative that the Mexican government get rid of its corrupt ways, create the proper infrastructure and job opportunities that its people need, and start caring for its own citizens. On the U.S side, the government needs to put “free market” ideals aside and enact limitations on corporations and their dog eat dog capitalist ways that are responsible for the exploitation of millions of Mexicans in this country.

Ciao McCain

McCain's run is over. But it was over before it even started. It was over when the democrats took control of the house, when the "Mission Accomplished" turned into +3,000 fallen young Americans, when the credit market collapsed. McCain's main mistake was running for a crumbling Republican party. The people could only take so much Reganomics, Persian Gulf Wars and deregulated markets before saying enough is enough. And it is finally enough. Years of failed policies implemented by Republican presidents have totally collapsed the GOP. The people simply no longer believe that the GOP has their best interest in mind: it took a huge hit in the economy for the people to wake up and realize they have been wronged, but it has finally happened. The only reason that McCain was so close to Obama in the polls was because people truly bought the "Maverick" image he portrayed. He made people believe that he was not blindly aligned to the party's platform but rather that he had platform of his own, a platform whose one and only issue was the welfare of America. But McCain's "Mavericky" star has fallen, with countless attacks on Obama that rather than focusing on policy focused on silly fucking things like "Obama wants to teach sex ed to kindergarteners" or that he associates himself with terrorists. His campaign has collapsed because rather than capitalizing on his image as an independent senator he has religiously followed the Bush-Rove protocol for winning an election. He has pandered to the religious right against his own beliefs, contradicted himself on everything from torture to deregulation, and his VP choice for the ticket has been an insult to all of America. McCain has failed, the Republican party and its very platform has failed.

Joe : McCain's plumber

As everyone already knows, the winner of the latest (and last) presidential debate for the 2008 race was none other than Joe the plumber. But what almost no one understands is that Joe the plumber might have been intentionally planted by the McCain campaign at the rally where Obama met him and where he rose to fame. Joe claimed to be a plumber who would be negatively affected by Obama's tax plan. He claimed he made over $250,000, and Obama's tax plan would punish hard working folk like him who worked really hard to get to where he is now. But after a little digging by the never-forgiving media, Joe's story fell apart completely. He does not in fact make $250,000, but something like $70,000 (a salary range that would benefit him under Obama's plan). Is Joe a masochist who will vote against his own interests? Hardly. Joe turns out to be from Alaska, not Ohio like he claimed. Alaska? That's right, none other than the great state of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. It is hard not to think that Joe was planted at the rally by the McCain campaign, and that they were planning on using him for the debate all along. What is the coincidence that they Obama would fall for the bait? Not very coincidental if you consider that there may have been many Joes, Janes, and Jacks planted at the rally and that the plumber just happened to be chosen. It is absolutely not surprising that McCain would do this, but what is surprising is how little thought they put into the whole set-up. Joe's appeal crumbled as fast as the prospects for McCain to take the White House come Novemeber.

Economic shamout

The bailout was passed with great fears that it would not be enough to prompt a recovery of wallstreet and to free up credit loans. Unfortunately, a week after it passed the house and senate those fears have come true. The fact of the matter is that the $700 billion is very much like trying to put a band aid on a patient who just had open heart surgery. It just won't do the trick. The economy is headed into a recession and some rough times await. The only way to solve this would have through strict regulations, or rather sound regulations. Did the credit companies not see this coming? Loaning more money than people could afford? Some may argue they may have seen it coming, profited from it, and saw a government intervention to save them when the sh**t hit the fan coming as well. After all, Washington is a good friend of wall street. In the end, the credit companies were irresponsible, profited immensely from sending the American (and global) economy down the drain, and what do they get as a punishment? 700 billion. Sounds like a deal to me. Washington lobbied for the bailout heavily, using fear tactics (such as calling it a second great depression) and made it seem like it was the only way out. The only way out? Perhaps for wall street. But 'mainstreet' is still unable to get a loan, prices keep rising and we keep losing jobs. So whether this bailout was designed to save wall street or the regular american worker remains to be seen.

SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Another presidential debate, another day in politics. Presidential debates are arguably all show and no substance, since instead of focusing on the issues and the future the candidates focus on each other's negative aspects. It is true that they can only talk so much about what they will do as presidents, since they are not elected yet, yet they can talk plenty about where they come from. But the fact remains that these debates focus mainly on attacks and negative press on the opponent rather than explaining to the American people what the candidates intend to do to move this country forward. Perhaps Obama attempted to focus on real issues more than McCain by reiterating his intended tax policy, his views on doing whatever is necessary to get Bin Laden (including military action in the border regions of Pakistan), and his plan for health care. But he did not address the issues in full nor he admitted that getting those things done are much harder than they appear. Where will the money for health care come from with this new 700 billion dollarbailout burden on the american public? Or what if Pakistan decides to end cooperation with the U.S as a result of these strikes, or even worse, what if there is a radical uprising as a result?