Who would have thought that a tiny check could do so little? The country is in dire need of leadership, and during this critical time we need action. We need leaders. We need change. With any luck we’ll pull through quickly and move on to prosper. The key is not action by the few, but action by the many. We all are responsible and accountable for our present situation and all need to work together to bring this financial disaster to an end. No more pointing fingers. Let’s fix this.

He has a plan to save the economy that is. “Bush planned to lay out his position Friday, but he wasn’t expected to go into specifics….Taxpayers could receive rebates of up to $800 for individuals and $1,600 for married couples under a White House plan.”

“What he believes is that we’ve got to do something that is robust. It’s going to be temporary and get money into the economy quickly,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday on CBS’s “The Early Show.” “It’s going to be focused on consumers, individuals, families — putting money in their pocket. And it’s going to be focused on giving businesses the incentive to hire people, to create jobs.”

The rebates would likely be limited to individuals with incomes of $85,000 or less and couples with incomes of $110,000 or less, the aides said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no final decisions had been made.

So this is the great plan. Give people a several hundred dollars and that will solve everything right? It’s sad that in a such a great country, with many smart and able minded people that leadership and creativity are at an all time low. Bush’s approval ratings are at an all-time low and his solution for “fixing” the economy is just another reflection of his failed leadership. Why didn’t he show concern when we wasted countless dollars fighting a war based on personal vengeance? Where has he been as the job and housing markets have taken a dramatic plunge?

To be fair, it’s not entirely his fault. We are a country that follows heard mentality. We often rely on others’ “great” ideas instead of coming up with our own. We would rather try a proven solution even if the problem is not the same as before and more importantly we work toward short-term fixes instead of long-term solutions.

Where is the plan to teach fiscal responsibility to Americans of all ages? Why isn’t there a plan to start teaching financial literacy to children starting at a young age? What about the plan to educate Americans that immigrate into this country with regards to financial literacy and the support programs to help them? Where is the plan to educate the millions of college kids that get lured into obtaining credit cards and running up balances that they will never be able to pay off because they simply don’t understand the long-term consequences or the simple fundamentals of compound interest?

Too little too late is what is being offered. Sure I’ll gladly take my $800. That should help pay for my upcoming summer vacation.

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said Wednesday that all indications showed that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in Iran.

The anti-American religious leader, who heads the Mahdi Army militia, was first reported by the Americans to be absent from Iraq on Feb. 13, when the latest U.S.-Iraq security drive opened in Baghdad.

Now I’m not going to pretend I know who this Muqtada al-Sadr character is, but I get the feeling he’s our latest “major terrorist threat,” which leads me to believe we will soon have more of a whack excuse to invade Iran. Gotta squeeze in one more invasion before this presidential term is up!

I’m also a little disappointed about the fact that what you see quoted above was the entire pathetic article. See for yourself

Mayans in Guatemala have vowed to cleanse sacred sites of evil spirits that Bush may bring with him on his visit. It’s amazing that even in the far reaches of the world bush causes so much hatred. While he may be a failure in providing leadership for our country, he does wonders provoking hatred and unifying people in other countries.

CNN Article on Bush Mayan Controversy

Maybe he should just leave it alone instead of proving that he is right just like he always does. If no one wants him there, what’s the point? As a general rule, if you are a guest in someone’s “house” and they don’t want you there, shouldn’t you leave? Diplomacy should be left up to someone or people that truly represent(s) this country and not only their own agenda.

Intrigued, I followed the link thinking maybe some man who dressed as Captain America to thrill children and instill morals in them during the 1950’s had died at the hearty age of 94 (which still would have been interesting in terms of foreshadowing). However, I was wrong.

“NEW YORK – Captain America has undertaken his last mission — at least for now. The venerable superhero is killed in the issue of his namesake comic that hit stands Wednesday, the Daily News reported.”

Why I continued reading, I really have no idea. I’m glad I did because I learned that Captain America was first created to boost patriotism during the second World War, as a “foe” for Adolf Hitler.

And now he’s been killed off of his own series. Perhaps the creators realized people don’t think America is cool anymore, resulting in a decrease in sales.

I’m actually a little scared, because when Captain America dies you know shit is really hitting the fan.

Read the full article here.

Yesterday there was a terror scare in Boston, but the guilty parties aren’t whom you might think. It turns out that a guerrilla marketing firm contracted by Time Warner posted LED characters from the show Aquateen Hunger Force all over the city of Boston and other cities across the nation.

Turner said the devices have been in place for two or three weeks in Boston; New York City; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. – CNN Article on The Terror Scare

Concerned motorists and passerbys noticed the devices (which in many cases had been up for weeks) and called the police setting of a chain of events that would cause panic to spread across the city and the country.

The interesting thing is, this event not only generated a lot of free publicity for Time Warner but were a godsend for political officials who were thirsty for something to bring them out into the limelight again. The worse offenders are Mayor Thomas Menino and Former Governor and Presidential Bid Candidate Mitt Romney. Both swear they will bring the “guilty” parties to justice and will find any means possible to punish Time Warner for its malfeasance. They are actually LOOKING for ways to punish the marketers responsible for these devices instead of looking at the larger issues.

Consider this. The devices were up for weeks. Nobody noticed them. After the first devices were found, it took a whole day to find all of them and then find out who was responsible. Had this been a real threat what would have become of the city of Boston, the other affected cities and their residents? The inability to quickly get the facts and identify the responsible parties show that we are no safer than we were before, and yet we are actually more scared as a society than we were before.

While the world has changed post-911, this event just illustrates the fear that we live in and how we perpetuate the ideals of those who wish to harm us and make us week as a result of our fear. The “innocent” media as well as the brave heroes, Romney and Menino were quick to admonish the big corporate bad guys responsible who “should have known better” instead of thinking about what could have been. What kind of world are we living in?

The truth is that the media and the spotlight hungry politicians are responsible for causing the scare. Our homegrown terrorists are the sensationalist journalists and politicians who cause the widespread panic and paranoia. Had they done their research first, gotten all the facts and waited to act responsibly to the public, this would not have been the huge story it was. And that’s what it is. It’s a story. A story for the media to report on. A story to cast the limelight on the political figures who have the public’s best interest at heart.

I for one am not scared. We live in a great country and I am proud to say I am an American. I’m just not proud of how we as a whole are becoming our own worst enemies. We spend our time pointing fingers and casting blame instead of coming up with solutions…after all it’s easier right? Perhaps we watch the news on tv or read the news paper to be scared and to be depressed. It’s not like there is anything good to report on is there? If it wasn’t bad we probably wouldn’t watch anyway.

CNN Article on The Terror Scare

I’m also very excited about the high chances of having a mulatto man or a dyke-a-licious (thanks, Leonard!) woman as the next President.

With that being said, I’d like to share my thoughts on all of the nominees for the 2008 Presidential Election, and I’ll stick to well-known names of the two main parties, Democrat and Republican, so this doesn’t get too lengthy.

DEMOCRATS

Hillary Clinton: Do ya thang, girl.  But I will confess (and I think I speak for the majority of America) that you are absolutely terrifying.

Barack Obama: What a dreamboat!  You are definitely going to give Hillary a run for her money with regards to getting women’s votes in the primaries.  Plus you were on Oprah, and errbody knows that everyone does anything Oprah supports. Gotta love television!

John Edwards: I don’t know what it is, but everytime I see you I feel like you’re just one big joke and anyone in their right mind shouldn’t respect you.  That’s just me, though.

John Kerry: Again? Really?  Your face makes me sad.

Al Gore: Okay, so you made a grand attempt to bring global warming to everyone’s attention, and I respect that, but you’re in the same position as Kerry.  Just let it go and keep up with your travelling slideshow.

REPUBLICANS

Rudy Giuliani: I already stated my qualms with you in my personal blog so I’m just going to say flat-out that I don’t like you.  Jerk.

John McCain: Man, your face makes me sad, too.  Except your face actually causes me physical pain, whereas Kerry’s just makes me want to adopt a hound dog and then strangle it.

Newt Gingrich: Newt, buddy, what are you doing?  You look like you should be preaching at a super church, then sneaking off to buy crystal meth from trannies.

I thought I had read somewhere that Dick Cheney was going to have a swing at it, but I guess I was wrong.  BUT, if he was I would probably vote for him out of fear. Fear of being shot in the face if I didn’t.

P.S.  Sorry for all of the below the belt, unfounded attacks on the Republican nominees, I started getting more and more angry as I went down the list.  I can’t hide my emotions.