At the risk of saying something blasphemous… During this whole financial crisis, which seems to be getting worse by the day, the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I’ve always been fascinated by the two sons; the younger one, who demands his inheritance and goes off and spends it wildly and the older son who stays and is the “good son.” There is always a lot of sympathy for the younger son who realizes his wrong and comes back to his father asking to be made no more than a slave....

You know, after spending $700 billion to help the American economy not sink into Depression 2.0 … $25 billion for the Big Three is like the change you find under the couch: With Congress preoccupied with the massive, $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have finally secured Part One of their own federal rescue plan. A bill set to be passed by Congress and signed by President Bush as early as this weekend—separate from the controversial Wall...

Okay, not really Ikea, but the land where Ikea was born: Sweden. Bruce Strokes has an interesting article on how Sweden faced a similar crisis to what the US is facing now back in the early 90s. You need to read the whole thing, but here is a peek: In the early 1990s, Sweden experienced the worst financial crisis suffered by any industrial country since the Depression. The Swedish banking collapse wiped out fortunes, cost taxpayers a staggering amount of money, and may have permanently reduced the...

One of the common complaints I’ve heard against the GOP during their convention here in Minnesota is how less-diverse was the makeup of the attendees. The thought behind the complaint is that the Republicans are hopelessly bigoted and racist, the last bastion in America for those who are fearful of anyone other than White Anglo Saxon Protestants. While I would agree with that the GOP is too white and too male and also think that the GOP has to do a better job of reaching out to persons of...

When people are talking about the presidential campaign and the current Wall Street meltdown, most of them have stated that McCain has always been for less regulation. The Obama campaign has also done the same thing: painting McCain as a doctrinaire free-marketeer. However, that is not the whole story. Yes, McCain tends to skew towards less regulation (he is a Republican, after all) but the Washington Post notes that he does see a need for it.

The latest meme being thrown by the Obama team is that McCain hasn’t done anything to prevent the crisis taking place on Wall Street. But the thing is, McCain had a lot to say about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in recent years. According to Ed Morrissey, McCain was one of three co-sponsors of an act that would have done something about the two companies: Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few...

Crossposted at the Square Deal: I’m not very good when it comes to things like money, my partner (who is the Democrat in the family) is better at those things than I am. So I will venture into this whole talk about what is going on with Wall Street with some fear and trepidation. As we stumble through this crisis, I have seen much ink spilled not as much on how to correct this, but on who is to blame. For liberals, this is a wonderful time, a time of vindication. In their eyes, 30 years...

Cross-posted at The Square Deal: Reading a lot of the blogs, the most common complaint about John McCain is that he has gone negative. “Why O, Why isn’t he the McCain of 2000?” People ask. Alex Massie and Ezra Klein give a very plausible answer. Klein shares an article from Politco that talks about how McCain tried to be a “different kind of Republican” going on poverty tours and giving substantive speeches. The result? No one cared: “We recognize it’s not going...

I’m a little wary of even trying to say anything about the whole “lipstick” affair, because it seems to only give what I think is a trivial issue more strength. But, Clive Crooks says it best: One wonders how much lower this election can sink. The furore over “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig” sets a new benchmark. The idea that Barack Obama seriously intended to call Sarah Palin a pig is surely absurd. Yes, it was a stupid thing to say; and...

Since the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate, I’ve heard people I know and people on blogs immediately pigeonhole the governor. The governor has been pinned with the view that she is a card-carrying member of the religious right and that she is mean-spirited and nothing more than a Christian version of the Taliban wanting to teach creationism and banning books. Of course, Newsweek has done some fact-checking that shows that the picture is a lot more complicated than...

9:11pm- They are showing the promo film on McCain. 9:12pm- McCain enters the stage and heads down the catwalk. Will try not to starting singing, “I’m too Sexy.” 9:14pm- The crowd is still clapping. McCain has said about 100 thank yous. Will he beat Obama’s thank yous? 9:17pm- McCain thanks President Bush. Expect the Obama campaign to use that in some ad sometime soon. 9:19pm- He’s thanking his family. Nice, but get to the message, John. 9:21pm- Nice words to the...

Last night, I went to another event sponsored by Log Cabin Republicans at a hotel in Minneapolis. It was among these other Republicans that I watched the Palin speech on TV. Some thoughts: Merits: Palin has received a lot of flak for her social conservative views. As a social liberal Republican, that gave me some pause. That said, Palin laid off gay marriage and abortion during her speech, which is a good thing. Hopefully, that’s a good sign for any McCain-Palin administration. She was...

In between real life, I’ve taken in some of the events taking place here in the Twin Cities during the Republican National Convention. Yesterday, I went to the “Big Tent Event” hosted by Log Cabin Republicans. (I’m been a member of Log Cabin and past present of the Minnesota Chapter.) We heard speeches from the likes of Jim Kolbe, the former member of Congress and an out gay Republican. We also heard from Patrick Sammon, the head of Log Cabin who officially announced that...

Like everyone else, John McCain’s pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate was a complete surprise. Personally, I was hoping for long-shot, former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as his running mate, but his pro-choice stance on abortion might have been a nonstarter for the base. Of course, Palin presents some risks: she’s only been Governor for less than two years, of a small-population state. People will wonder if she would be ready to be President should McCain die...

CNN is reporting that John McCain has picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his VP pick. More as it develops…

Well, if you didn’t know where Barack Obama stood, you can’t say that after tonight. Obama did a very good job of defining who he was as opposed to John McCain. My initial thoughts: While I may disagree with Obama, it was nice to hear when he accepted the nomination. The Dream really was realized a little bit tonight. Obama talked about tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans and then talked about a bevy of programs. He said that he would get money from closing tax loopholes and making...

I’ve been away on business for the last few days so it was hard to post anything about the Democratic National Convention. However, I have been watching some of the main speeches and wanted to share my thoughts: It was good to see Ted Kennedy on Monday night. The old, liberal lion looked frail, as can be expected from what he has gone through, but his spirit was strong. Michelle Obama had a good speech, even though it had a lot of cliches in it. It was interesting that she talked about...

Now we know who is the Democratic VP candidate. All in all, I think it’s a good choice, but just not the game-changer that I think many were expecting. Biden of course brings experience, which is a nod to the Clinton supporters and adds gravitas to the Dems against McCain who has used his past experience as a strength. He also brings, the needed foreign policy experience that Obama is lacking. The downside, is that this isn’t necessarily the change Obama is talking about. Having someone...

Paybacks can be a…well, you know. John McCain should have known that the Obama team was just waiting to pounce after his “Celebrity” ad, and pounced they did after his gaffe on not knowing how many houses he owns. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post notes how both parties try very hard to paint the other as out-of-touch with the common man. McCain and the GOP have been hitting hard to tar Obama as another elitist liberal, while Obama has started to paint McCain as a fat cat that...

David Brooks wrote a good piece yesterday about the changes that have gone on in the McCain camp. It shows how McCain, the man who wanted to run a “maverick” campaign, has been forced to run a conventional campaign after all. So many have expressed their disgust with McCain having taken the so-called “low road.” And others, like myself and Brooks, feel a sense of sadness that the old McCain has been pushed to the wayside. But the article got me thinking about how hard...