Privitizing Gains & Socializing Losses…Welcome to Bushonomics 101
Posted on September 25th, 2008
Well, unless you have your head burried in the sand, you have probably heard about the proposed $700 BILLION bailout rescue investment that our government has proposed to avert the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. And while this current administration has done more than its fair share of fear-mongering, and over-the-top hyperbole, unfortunately, in this situation, they actually nailed it on the head. For years now, the rich have gotten richer through risky investment decisions, very little regulation, and even less oversight (not to mention the Bush tax cuts). Now it’s coming home to roost.
A weak housing market, a decline in consumer spending, a tight credit situation, and soaring energy costs have all collided in a “perfect storm”. Wall Street? Meet Main Street. They’re none too happy with you right now. Even while companies have struggled over the past years, executives have recorded stratospheric salaries, despite the financial woes of the companies they helm. Investors have seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average climb from below 8000 points in 2002 to over 14,000 points just a year ago, and down to 11,000 today. Money has been made and that money has lined the pockets of the private sector (as it should in a capitalist society, I might add). However, now that we face an economic prospect not seen sine the 1930’s, we are being asked as taxpayers to socialize the losses. You and I are being asked to rescue these financial institutions that made bad decisions, while pocketing the gains throughout the boom years.
And the worst part is, we really have no choice. We HAVE to approve the bailout. The alternative really is an economic collapse that will start a worldwide crisis. What we don’t have to accept however, is the status quo. If we are going to approve this bailout (which by the way costs each and every American $2700 out of their pocket), shouldn’t we at least be able to gain concessions? Where is this an “investment” for the American people? Do we get an ownership stake in these companies? Will there be a payoff in the end (besides the anticipated economic stability)?
And can we at least have a say in making sure this situation doesn’t happen again? Can we pass reforms and regulation that governs the types and risk of investments our financial institutions are allowed to make? Can we ensure that as the average American is called upon to “rescue” these banks, that these same people are not forced out of their homes due to foreclosure? I mean, if the CEO of a bank, making millions a year can be bailed out for making a bad decision, can’t we do the same for the couple in Miami that bought a house they couldn’t afford only to find out they owe more than the home is even worth?
While we are at it, how about some reforms to the credit card industry? With over $800 Billion in credit card debt, America is looking at its next financial crisis. How about some regulation regarding the fees and rates banks can charge its customers (especially if we are being called upon to bail out those same banks)?
I think we can all agree that a bailout is not only imminent but is necessary. Let’s just remember to make sure we make the argument to our government that this money isn’t free and doesn’t come without strings attached.
“I have great, great confidence in our capital markets and in our financial institutions. Our financial institutions, banks and investment banks, are strong. Our capital markets are resilient. They’re efficient. They’re flexible.”
– Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, March 16, 2008
“Our policy in this administration — laws shouldn’t bail out lenders, laws shouldn’t help speculators.”
– President Bush, May 19, 2008
“Our economy has continued growing, consumers are spending, business are investing, exports continue increasing and American productivity remains strong. We can have confidence in the long-term foundation of our economy…I think the system basically is sound. I truly do.”
– President Bush, July 15, 2008
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Twice In A Lifetime
Posted on September 22nd, 2008
First off, don’t drop dead just because I’m posting twice in the same day. This blog post has been rattling around in my head for some time and I’m only now beginning to put words to it. I haven’t posted much lately because I ended up annoyed at myself for not posting my feelings and emotions when I write these. It’s always about something I did or somewhere I went. What I really needed was an outlet to express some feelings. Don’t worry this isn’t going to become some big Emo blog, I just want it to be somewhere I can be honest and post what’s truly going on, not just in my life, but also in my heart and head. My friend, Soco, is able to dig deep within himself and put this stuff to words and I don’t know if it’s easy for him or not, but I am jealous of his capacity for laying it all out on the table. So I’m going to try to do the same…
My post a few minutes ago regarding gays voting Republican is a perfect example. I find it incomprehensible that my friends would even consider voting for McCain but apparently some of them are McCain supporters. Or maybe they are Obama haters. I don’t know. But I do know that it infuriates me that I’m fighting for the basic right to be with Jamie, and they are voting for someone that is against that. It almost feels like a slap in the face. Again, I know there are more issues at stake, but I just can’t get my head around it, and that makes me even angrier.
Anyway, moving along, I’m finding it hard lately to relate to the Seattle gaymers (Jason, Woody, Coz, Soco, Alex, and Ducky)…I know this is partly due to the fact that I’m sad that Jamie has gone back home and it will be months before I even see him again. Aside from that though, I think there is a deeper issue. It seems that lately there is just way too much drama going on between them. This person likes that person but that person likes someone else, and so on. I know for a fact that certain people don’t attend some functions because someone else will be there. I know I’m the oldest in the group but we ALL graduated high school a long time ago. It really annoys me when this drama BS is going on, because I really like ALL of them for different reasons and I like the dynamic as it used to be. I don’t want any of them to think that I’m avoiding them because I don’t value their friendship individually. I also realize that I need to extend my hand more often than I have and not just mope around 9 months of the year waiting for Jamie to come back.
So I decided to list one or two things about each of them that is the trait or characteristic that draws me to them.
Jason: I love Jason’s sarcastic (even bitchy!) sense of humor. He always manages to make me laugh even when I don’t feel like laughing. He’s also the one person I can talk to the most.
Woody: He is probably one of the most easy-going people I’ve ever met. Nothing phases him, and he isn’t afraid to talk about his feelings. He’s always there with a supportive and kind word.
Coz: I’ve known Coz the longest and I’ve only known him for less than two years (in person). Coz is probably the most like me in general; we both have a love for all things geek-related (comic-books, toys, scifi shows and movies, etc.), and we have similar tastes in most of it. We could spend a week locked in a comic book store and be thrilled to death about it!
Soco: Soco is probably the hardest to get to know, but one of the people you want to get to know the most. He’s intelligent and bright but is often lost in his own head, and I love that. He’s also generous and will do anything for anybody.
Alex: Alex is one of the youngest of the group and by definition is usually the most exuberant about anything and everything. His enthusiasm is contagious. At the same time, Alex is the one person in the group I could sit next to for hours, saying nothing and enjoying the silence, yet still enjoying each other’s company.
Ducky: Ducky is the person I’ve probably spent the least amount of alone time with…but like Alex, his enthusiasm knows no bounds. Always upbeat and up for anything, Ducky is the living embodiment of the ID. He’ll do anything just for the sake of doing it, and it’s that kind of happy intensity that makes Ducky so much fun to be around.
All of these guys are people I’m proud to have found as friends over the last two years. I hope that I can be as good a friend back to them as they have been to me.
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It’s My Party And I’ll Die If I Want To…
Posted on September 22nd, 2008
I realize that this election is pretty much based on one issue for me…the right to be with Jamie together in this country. I also realize that for most people, the two party system allows for choice and I respect everyone’s right to choose who they think would make a better President. What I don’t understand is how a gay person can vote for a Republican candidate given that they (the Republican party in general) treat our community as second-class citizens.
I am all for less government, lower taxes, better education, less government interference in people’s lives, and fiscal responsibility, all things the Republican Party is supposed to stand for. Instead we get a larger and more expensive federal government, tax cuts for the wealthy, a broken education system (granted, this one was inherited and just not fixed), a wanton disregard for people’s civil and individual rights (abortion, equal rights for gays, assisted suicide, illegal wiretapping, etc.), and an unbalanced budget, escalating deficit, trade imbalances, and unregulated financial markets with subsequent “government” bailouts. I’m sorry but the term is a misnomer; it’s you and I bailing them out through taxes, higher prices, etc.
Anyway, if any of my gay friends out there are reading this, I really would love to know what motivates you to vote Republican this year in the Presidential election, because I for one can not fathom it…
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Live From PAX
Posted on August 30th, 2008
It’s Saturday morning and Jamie and I are sitting at the Daily Grill waiting for our breakfast. Today is day two of PAX, the big videogame convention in Seattle. 45,000 attendees expected this year as this season’s biggest games are shown. Yesterday was a whirlwind of games, friends, and the keynote address by Ken Levine, the public face of last year’s award-winning Bioshock. Today are a bunch of panels from podcasting to blogging to game unveilings..should be fun!
Filed under: Jamie, Seattle, Video Games, friends | No Comments »
Who Watches The Watchmen?
Posted on August 20th, 2008
I almost felt like I was a kid again…sitting in the theatre next to Jamie about to see The Dark Knight, and the trailer (below) came on the screen…
This is one of my FAVORITE graphic novels (or comic book series) of all time (tied with the entire run of the Sandman). Zac Snyder (who also did the movie 300) is probably one of the few people I’d trust to helm such a project, and it looks like he’s doing it all kinds of justice.
Unfortunately, the movie, although completed, is now in legal limbo over who actually owns the rights to turn it into a movie. 20th Century Fox has blocked the release of this movie now until the issue can be settled in (or out of) court. I can tell you right now, after seeing this trailer, if Fox prevents this movie from being released, I will never again go see a Fox-made movie. This trailer has me more excited for a movie than any I can remember in the past 20 years! Just see for yourself…
Filed under: Movies | 1 Comment »
I Have Seen The Future
Posted on August 12th, 2008
Last week, the unthinkable happened… I dropped my iPod. It didn’t shatter but it did make unpleasant whirring noises and refused to work after that. So after much internal debate, I decided to slim my pockets by one device. No, I didn’t decide to go iPod-less; I decided to get an iphone!
Wow! What a device! Now I’m not a mac cultist and this phone is far from perfect. But it sure is a marvel of technology. For example, I’m writing this blog entry on my phone. I’m not very fast yet with the soft keyboard but I know that as soon as I trust the predictive text more, I’ll be able to type a lot faster without worrying about the mistakes I made along the way.
While things like true web browsing, email, gps, and a music player ate nice, the true strength of the apple iPhone is on the App store they have for it. The store is filled with apps, both free and for purchase, that take the phone to places it’s never been before.
I would type more bit I’m itching to get back to playing Aurora Feint, a free game you can download and play ok the phone. 
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Time Keeps On Slipping Into The Future
Posted on July 30th, 2008
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been almost 4 weeks since my last post. Sorry. 
It’s been one of the most hectic months I’ve had in recent memory…
July 4-6: The long holiday weekend for Independence Day was more quiet than we anticipated, in some ways. Originally planning to go to Rob’s cabin in Elbe, we had to scrap those plans when Saffie hurt her leg and had to be medicated and kept quiet. Instead, Jamie and I braved the lousy weather and went to see Wanted, starring James MacAvoy and Angelina Jolie. It was…okay. Not as good as I hoped but about as good as expected. On Saturday, we went shopping at IKEA and bought four new bookcases for the bedroom. Unfortunately the house, being old, is also quite crooked and we need to brace them to the wall before filling the shelves. Hopefully we’ll get around to that at some point this coming weekend. Sunday included shopping trips to Best Buy where Jamie spent his birthday money and Target where I bought a new LEGO Star Wars piece for my collection.
July 9: A bunch of us went to 611 Supreme for dinner to celebrate Emily’s birthday. For those who don’t know, 611 Supreme is a creperie and serves up delicious savory dinner (or breakfast crepes), and sweet dessert crepes. Many went out drinking and dancing afterwards but Jamie and I headed home, it being a school night for me, and him not being 21 yet…
July 12: A good friend at work, Margie (and her husband Mark) had Jamie and I over for dinner at their house on Saturday night. It’s quite a drive from my house to Puyallup, but the good food and good company (and delish Mojitos!) made it all worthwhile.
July 13: I took Jamie to Kerry Park, probably the place which Seattle is most photographed from. Any picture you see of Seattle where you can see the Space Needle, the downtown skyline, and Mount Rainier in the distance is probably photographed from this vantage. Jamie loved the view and spent a good while taking some great shots on his camera. Head over to his Flickr page to see how they turned out.
July 15: Tonight was the night Jamie had been waiting for…he and I took our friend Frankie (for his birthday) to see Jimmy Eat World live in concert at the Showbox SoDo. I had known of JEW before Jamie’s visit but never really spent a lot of time listening to them…however they surprised me with an awesome live performance! It was also my first time at this venue and I really liked the layout of it. Depsite Frankie almost getting in a fight with a 15 year old girl (who was trashed beyond belief), it was a fun evening, and Jamie had a blast, so that makes me happy.
July 16-19: This was my business trip to Chicago. I had never spent any time in Chicago before this (only flown or driven through) and it is a beautiful city with some AMAZING restaurants. However, I could never live there but for one simple fact: the traffic is an absolute horror! Yes, much worse than Seattle. Even worse than I remember in California the few times I’ve driven there. It literally took me 2 hours to drive 22 miles! The trip computer on my rental car showed an average speed of 15.8 MPH over the course of the four day visit. Although I was supposed to get home Saturday morning, flights out of O’Hare were cancelled and/or delayed, leaving me to arrive home at 10:30 at night.
July 23: Another business trip, this time a last-minute flight to Spokane to visit a potential new customer. But after my long(ish) trip to Chicago, I had promised Jamie no more overnight trips in July. So I flew out early Wednesday morning and came back in the evening. The good news is that because the flight was overbooked, and I volunteered to catch the next flight an hour later, I got a free round-trip pass on Alaska/Horizon to anywhere they fly, including Newark (1.5 hours from my folks), Mexico or Hawaii! 
July 25: Another day-trip, to Portland to meet with a delinquent customer.
July 26-27: THis was finally the weekend we managed to get to the cabin in Elbe. It was Rob’s birthday the day before, and we headed to the cabin early Saturday morning to meet up with Rob, Ed, Rick, Steve, and Erik. We had fun hanging out by the river and letting Saffie and Dolce go for a swim. Later we sat around the campfire, had a delicious dinner of steak, corn on the cob and baked potatos, and consumed some not-minor quantities of alcohol. Unfortunately, Saffie had collided with Dolce earlier in the day in her exuberance to get to the river, and now Dolce was suffering from a minor leg injury.
The following monring we woke up to rain, and Dolce limping even worse than the night before. Since we knew the guys would be sleeping in late (they were up all hours of the night drinking around the campfire), and Dolce was hurt and there wasn’t much else to do, we decided to leave a note for the guys and head back home. We pretty much chilled the rest of the day and kept Dolce quiet as her leg healed.
July 28: Yet ANOTHER business trip, a day trip to Portland for the Sales Meeting down there. The Portland branch has its own unique set of challenges that I have to deal with, so any time I can get in front of the Sales Group is good and tends to (hopefully) make my job easier.
Which brings me to today. I’m working today (Wednesday) and tomorrow, but I took a vacation day on Friday. You would think I would just be sitting home resting, but no! We have a plan! Jamie and I are going to go out on Friday on a “photo tour” of the Seattle area. I realized after our visit to Kerry Park for Jamie to take pictures that there are a lot of places around here that he hasn’t seen that are just a photo-worthy. We are going to go to Freemont and visit the Troll under the Bridge. We’re going to then head to Ballard to see the Ballard Locks. I also plan to show him the Olympic Sculpture Park, Gasworks Park, and Alki Beach in West Seattle.
Depending on how energetic we feel come Saturday and Sunday, we may also take a few day trips out of the city: one to LaConner and the tulip fields (although it’s too late in the season to see them all in bloom now), and Deception Pass; the other to Forks, La Push (which is the home of the Quileute Indian tribe), the Hoh Rainforest and the Sol Duc Hot Springs.
Filed under: Jamie, Seattle, Trip, weekend | 5 Comments »
What’s Going On?
Posted on July 2nd, 2008
I’m finally feeling better, having shaken the terrible summer cold I had, and just now starting to recover from allergies. Despite all that, it’s been a bit hectic. I travelled all of last week, first to Portland then to Spokane, both for business. I got home Friday night, and Jamie and I watched Sex And The City: The Movie, which was quite good and made me wish the show were still being filmed.
Saturday was Jamie’s birthday and after serving him breakfast in bed, we were off like a whirlwind to get ready for the shindig we were hosting that night. I had invited 5 other couples from work to join us for a “wine & cheese flight” from around the world. Assigning a different country to each couple, they were to bring 2 bottles of wine (one white, one red) and a cheese from their respective country. Well, twelve bottles of wine and some yummy munchies later, we talked and laughed and played some Rock Band, and it was quite a successful evening! And while this wasn’t a “birthday party” for Jamie, we did manage to sing Happy Birthday to him over two cakes… 
On Sunday we slept in a bit later than anticipated (the last guests didn’t leave until 12:30am), and so didn’t manage to go to any of the Pride Parade or festivities. We had the Seattle gaymers (and Emily!)over later in the afternoon though and had a small soiree to celebrate Jamie’s birthday, and he got some nice gifts from our VERY generous friends! Since it was waaaaay too hot to do any Rock Band, we ended up playing CatchPhrase for most of the evening. Although I went to bed around 10pm in order to be fresh for work the next morning, they played CatchPhrase and SingStar until the last guest left at 1am. Jamie had a good time and I’m glad he had a nice birthday.
We had originally planned to go to Rob’s cabin in Elbe this weekend for the long holiday weekend, but somehow, Saffie managed to injure herself and pulled a muscle or tore a ligament or something. Now she is on medication and strict bedrest from the vet, so it looks like we’ll have to postpone our trip to Elbe. Not sure what we’ll do yet, but it might be nice just to have a quiet weekend together after all the craziness of the past 3 weeks. Next weekend, we’ve been invited to a BBQ on Saturday night by another co-worker and that should be fun. We’re also going to Jimmy Eat World in concert on the Tuesday before and I know Jamiemonster is really looking forward to that as they are one of his favorite bands.
Filed under: Jamie, Uncategorized, friends, weekend | 1 Comment »
I’m Sick And Tired Of Being Sick And Tired
Posted on June 20th, 2008
I’ve now been sick and fighting a head cold for just over a week and I’m really tired of being sick. This is my second major cold/flu in the past two months. I missed all the festivities over the last weekend, including the BBQ hosted at our house for all of our gaymer friends. Xak and Domi were in town for 5 days and I didn’t get to do anything more exciting than drive around town with them looking for an open comic book store.
I finally feel like I’m on the road to recovery though, and it can’t come too soon. Tomorrow night, Jamie and I and a bunch of the Seattle crew are going to see Avenue Q at the Paramount Theatre. I saw this on Broadway a couple years ago and it is one of my favorite musicals ever! We’re heading to the Taphouse Grill for dinner beforehand too so it should be a fun evening. Just have to remember to take a lot of cough lozenges and a bottle of cough syrup so I don’t annoy the other patrons.
I don’t think we have much planned for Sunday so maybe we’ll finally get to go see one of the movies we’ve been wanting to see (like Sex And The City).
My Xbox 360 finally gasped its last breath the other night, and I didn’t realize until it did how central it was to my life…not only is it the machine I play most of my games on, but it’s also the only way I can now watch television shows since I cancelled my cable subscription several months back. It’s also a focal point of my social life as I often have friends around for sessions of (drunk) Rock Band, (drunk) Scene It, and other party-type games. So the first thing I did was purchase a new Xbox 360 Elite. I am still going to have my other console repaired (under warranty by Microsoft) but I wasn’t going to be able to last the 6 weeks without it that would require. Sad, I know, but true. At least Jamie and I will be able to have more Rock Band gatherings over the summer!
Filed under: Jamie, TV Shows, Video Games, friends, weekend | 1 Comment »
My Boyfriend, The Terrorist?!
Posted on June 11th, 2008
Well, the day had finally come! Jamie was arriving in Seattle to spend the next three months with me! Yay!
His direct flight from London Heathrow landed at 4:20 PM. I got to the airport about 4:45 PM figuring I would wait at the top of the escalators where international travellers exit from Customs and Immigration. So I waited. And waited. Annd waited some more. I actually started to ger worried because now there were no more people arriving on the trams and coming up the escalators. I texted his cell phone. No response. I called his cell phone and it went straight to voicemail. The sign over the baggage carousel changes to the next arriving international flight. Now I’m wondering what the hell could have happened.
My phone rings. Caller ID says “Restricted Call”. Uh oh. I answer. A stranger identifies himself as an agent with Customs and Immigration and begins interrogating me over the phone. Who was I? Was I expecting someone? How did I know him? How long was he staying? What did I do for a living? Where did I work? What was my work address? How much money did I make? Was I providing a home for Jamie the entire length of his visit? What is our relationship? How did we meet? How long have we been together?
After 5 or 6 minutes of questioning me, he finally thanks me for my time and is about to hang up. I say, “excuse me, but can you tell me if he’ll be coming through soon? I’m parked in short-term parking and need to know whether I should wait or move my car…”
His flippant response? “We’ll see.” And then proceeds to promptly hang up on me before I can ask any more questions!
About 15 minutes later, Jamie finally appears, and he was NOT happy. After being “red-flagged” coming through Immigration, he was detained and interrogated for 90 minutes! They even made him tell them his email login and password for his MacBook.
I understand that security has gotten tighter in this country since 9-11. But isn’t the UK our closest and staunchest ally in the “war on terrorism”?! Could Jamie possibly look any LESS like a terrorist?! I’m sorry, but this was not a valid detention, it was some asshole high on his own authority trying to make life miserable for others for no reason at all…
How annoying!
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