Why you should care

Although I respect one's right to be divorced from the political process, with all its dishonesty and the frustrating sense that your opinion doesn't matter, I just can't see how one can turn away from this 2008 presidential election, considering the direct impact it will have on your wallet.

Let's say someone walked up to you and reached into your pocket and pulled out your ATM card. That person walks to the bank and withdraws more than $2,200, and just walks away.

You'd be incensed. You'd feel robbed and cheated. And you'd be right.

That's a conservative estimate of the average cost to a tax payer from the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout. But you can't go to the cops after this robbery. Your only recourse for getting that money back is a politician standing up for you in Washington, promising not to punish you for the failures of those financial fat cats who can't stop sniffing their own ass and reaping millions of dollars in profit.

Barack Obama says we need to worry about three things. That's good, but that's not enough. McCain says it might cost each household $10,000, and that the money shouldn't go to rich CEOs. That's good, but not enough.

Demand more. Write them e-mails. Let them know that the person who shows real leadership on this issue, and all issues, will be the one to win in 2008.

Almost everyone agrees this election is about change. But change is already here. Wall Street will soon be unrecognizable. I'll admit, I don't understand exactly what's going on here. I'm not sure anyone does. This has even the smartest economists scratching their heads, and making educated guesses (which is pretty much the whole of the study of economics).

But as a young voter, I'm just thinking, "What the fuck?" What did I do to suddenly find myself in this difficult situation? It's exasperating. Soon I'll find myself out in the workforce, in a shitty economy, with a nearly worthless degree and a pile of student loans. Thanks for that. I thought I was doing what I was supposed to.

I'm not worried, though. America has seen worse, and has rebounded because of sensible regulation and effective leadership. Of course, in the absence of those two things (see Bush, George W.) you get nonsense like this.

Elsewhere

In Carolina Reporter, we've been working on a story about gas prices, and how they were less than $1 per gallon just ten years ago. Remember who was president then? I bet Oval Office blow jobs seem like a small price to pay for such good economic times.

Watch President Clinton on Letterman. I'm not even sure if what he is saying is true, but I believe it. Dude's such a good politician, it's scary. He's much more skilled than Obama. That might be merely because Clinton is so much more comfortable with a good lie, but it's the case nonetheless.

Of course, Chris Rock ripped him a new one just moments later.

Sam Harris, one of my favorite authors, writes a nice Newsweek article on the Moose Hunter.

And in the surprise of the century....

Also: I'm going to start a long piece on a controversial cult made famous by bartender Brian Flanagan (aka Maverick). Is this something anyone is interested in? Leave a comment. Or don't, whatever.