Hongyun wanted to watch some debates to see how the movers and shakers of the political world handle debates. You see, in China, there are no political debates. ever. Candidates generally just make a speeches promising the world and going backstage to plan out their new 800 sqft solid marble bathrooms for after they are elected. Hongyun's mom tells us in the past they would just put photos of the guys up for "election" on the ballot and you would pick based on how they look. This explains why her mom feels that President Hu Jin Tao is a good guy since she saw a video bite of him making dumpling with a common person. She said it shows that he's a down to earth kind of guy. Nope...that's not a staged display of handshaking or baby-kissing...yeah right. Anyway:

The Democratic debate schedule from Vivian J. Paige
September 26, 2007: NBC News/MSNBC** in Hanover, NH
October 30, 2007: NBC News/MSNBC** in Philadelphia, PA
November 15, 2007: CNN* in Las Vegas, NV
December 10, 2007: CBS in Los Angeles, CA

The Republican debate schedule from Lead Us Forward
# September 17, Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Sky Angel - Value Voters
# September 27, 2007 Baltimore, Maryland - PBS
# October 14, 2007 Manchester, New Hampshire - ABC News
# October 21, 2007 Orlando, Florida - FOX News
# November 6, 2007 Ames, Iowa - MSNBC
# November 28, 2007 St Petersburg, Florida - CNN, with YouTube and Google
# January 5, 2008 Johnson County, Iowa - Iowa Public Television
# January 30, 2oo8 Los Angeles, California - CNN

Hmmm, I guess the elephants have more to talk about...

Apparently, Hilldog (that's Hillary Clinton to you) is endorsing a bill that will put $1 billion into the hands of people who couldn't figure out how to do basic math when they bought their house in the first place. She claims that evil mortgage brokers conspired against the poor, unsuspecting public to dupe them into signing stacks of paper for a house they couldn't afford.

This is EXACTLY the sort of stupidity that keeps me from calling myself a Democrat. I mean, I truly take the environmentally sound sort of life to heart (I've owned a couple electric cars and plan on getting another one for my next car) and don't really think Bush has done a good job of anything really, but I refuse to call myself a Democrat because of the stupid shit they always do in regards to money and babying people who are too stupid to function in the world by themselves.

Look, the long and short of it is this. If people can add/subtract/multiply/divide a few numbers properly, they should have seen that they couldn't have possibly afforded their homes in the first place and shouldn't have signed anything. No one duped them (I agree, there are a few percentage points of impropriety as there are always are in any large system), no one put a gun to their head saying sign it, etc. I remember walking around looking at townhouses out at Rivermark here in Santa Clara. They were very nice homes that were priced around $600K. At the time, I was making around 70-80k per year and was in debt up to my eyes. The salesperson in the model home said she could finance me. No money down, no worries. She said she just gave a family with single earning engineer who made 85k a loan for $600K with no money down. Quickly doing the math in my brain...600Kx2=1.2mil/30yrs=40Kyr/12mo=+-3400/mon in payments+500propertytax+100insurance+200HOA= 4200/mon*.75fortaxbreak=3150/mon payment. OUCH.

I was taking home barely above that mark and had two car payments, credit cards to the hilterlands, and other expense of course. And this salesperson lady was going to give me a loan for $600K on the spot. I thought about it for about 3.4 secs and smiled. Then I got up and left. I knew these people were nuts. And now, these are exactly the same assholes that Hilldog wants to send a check to...because they were "duped". C'mon...throw me a frickin' bone Hilldog. I didn't buy a house that I couldn't afford because I took about 5 secs to work the numbers in my head and saw that it is plainly stupid. The millions of idiots (minus the hundreds or perhaps thousands of people who where really unknowingly duped for real) bought their homes for one reason and one reason only: greed. Please don't give my tax money to greedy people who don't know how to do math. Oh and by the way, this little stunt of yours confirms my belief in the down right idiocy of the Democratic party.

Los Angeles Times: LA Land Blog : The rapidly changing landscape of the Los Angeles real estate market

Confused about the special election in California? I sure as hell am. I HATE TV commercials that try to convince me one way or another about the issues. The answer is simple, read the proposed laws for YOURSELF in Voter Information Guide.

I know it burns brain cycles and most people won't take time to read these before voting, but I think it's worth a look. The guide even has arguements for and rebuttals for each ballot measure.

So far here's my take:

Proposition 73 waiting period and parental notification for teen abortion: makes teens accountable for their behavior, provides some loop holes so that teens who are in abusive situations can get abortions by going through a court. I vote YES

Proposition 74 longer period before tenure and easier dismissal of poor performing teachers: don't believe the hype. The union bosses are all over this one so that they don't loose constituents and union dues. The point of this bill is to improve CA schools by weeding out the poor performers. This happens in every company including Microsoft where we're under the gun to perform better and constantly improve our metrics...why shouldn't this apply to school teachers--a seemingly key profession that determines the future of our state and nation. Again, I vote YES

Proposition 75 permission for union dues to be used for political campaigns: another no brainger. Greater transparency for union members to see what the brass is doing is a good thing. If I were a union member would I want them burning my hard earned dollars for a cause I don't support? Easy YES

Proposition 76 spending limits for schools: throwing money at the school system does not fix them...we've been doing that ($3 billion more this year alone) and our schools still suck. The problem is simple...we spend too much to care for those that have no initiative to care for themselves. California is being overrun by illegal immigrants who have cut the artery of the state's coffers and are sucking it dry. In the end, California is in debt and as a former up-to-my-neck-debt-ower, I can say the only way to fix the issue is to cut back and live within your means. Bleeding heart liberals who want full services for everyone simply doesn't understand the nature of money or economics. You want your kids to get a good education? Then be a good parent and live is a decent school district. Simple. Another slam dunk YES.

Proposition 77 redistricting: make districts fair and balanced to make it easier to get rid of the liberal girlie men in Sacramento. You should read the arguement against this one...it's quite silly: let's not change the districts because the writers of the bill have a bad motive to change things in the government (uh yeah, duh...that's the whole point!). YES.

Propositions 78 and 79: both seem to be smokescreens for special interests at the expense of Californians. 78 provides for voluntary discounts but no means of enforcement. 79 provides for mandatory discounts but a new oversight committee to figure out which drugs get discounted and which are not. Both seem bad and likely a waste of money. Since they don't seem to support any of my needs, I vote NO on both.

Proposition 80 regulation of electricity providres: another head scratcher. The arguements for and against had quite a few fallacies ans were very emotional so that didn't help. In actually reading the text of the bill, it looks good: prevent future gouging and move towards renewable sources as a staple of our energy needs by 2010 (just 5 short years). YES seems like the way to go.

See For Yourself.