Enough with the Prop 8 Racist Crap.

I'm so sick of the B.S. racial blaming here.

1) Why are we talking about the 856,000 black people that voted for Prop 8, but NOT the 3,774,000 white people and 1,180,000 Hispanic people? 5 and 3/4 as many white and hispanic people (4 1/2 times as many white people alone) voted for Prop, and somehow it's the black voters' fault the thing passed? There are people who deserve to be beaten over this sort of misinformation.

2) Is it just me, or does some of the "this happened because black voters came out to vote for Obama" rhetoric sound an awful lot like "Black people shouldn't vote" and/or "a black man shouldn't have been running"?

3) Anyone else notice that some of the white anchors reporting on how this was black people's fault look a little... sheepish? "Gosh, I sure hope no one guesses which way I voted while I'm blaming the black people."

4) And finally, fellow white folk, how about we shut up about why we think 70% of black voters supported Prop 8, and actually go talk to some black voters who went that way and find out why. Let's get some information on what activist failure was here, and fix it. Because that kind of statistical flyer, however small in absolute numbers, shows a serious and embarrassing problem in tactics.

It's *ALWAYS* the economy, stupid.

Dear Senator McCain,
Thank you for resolutely refusing to talk about, much less have a workable proposal to address, the biggest issue in this country right now, the one that is on just about everyone's lips. In all your much-vaunted years of experience, surely you've seen how often this one single issue wins or loses an election under normal circumstances. Here we are in terribly abnormal circumstances, possibly facing the worst economic disaster in 80 years, yet you refuse to talk about it unless your arm is absolutely twisted. Then you suggest the same policies that got us into this mess, funded by taking money away from the people who need it most. Then you try to divert to absolutely stupid shit.
By the way, thank you for your absolutely stupid shit, too. You've already got the insane bigot vote, after all. As for undecided voters, I have enough faith in my fellow citizens to think that "Obama is a terrorist" is the level of Big Lie that makes people go "WTF? That can't be right." And when they hear what the real deal is with that Ayers guy, you look like a fucking moron. You look like a half-senile dimwit who's grasping at the tiniest of straws because he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Which is what you are, so I appreciate your honesty.
Keep up the good work. You're giving me a glimmer of hope that there might be a chance for this country after all.
~Jinnayah

OK, this is really sad.

I saw gas for $3.98 a gallon, and I got excited. *shakes head*

So, people out there who are following the election: does any candidate support getting the Federal Reserve a flippin' clue? Earlier this week, they decided to leave the interest rate at 2%, but they're now putting back on the table the option of raising it later to combat inflation, because the economy is looking better.

*blinkblink*

Economy is looking better. Where do I start here?
1) I don't know anyone, including myself, who is doing as well now as they were a year ago. Most people I know, including myself, are doing noticeably worse than they were 3-6 months ago. I'm seeing a noticeable Not Improvement here.
2) One of the big problems is that the dollar exchange rate has been in the toilet for years. YEARS. What's one way to fix that? Raise the interest rates, thus making other countries want to invest in this one, thus making dollars more desirable in order to do so. (To put it in highly simplified terms, of course.)

As I touched on in February, I am very much getting to the point where I think "economic growth" is a euphemism for corporations pumping resources out of this country as quickly as possible for the benefit of a few. The more the economy "grows", the worse actual people seem to be doing.