Getting In the Way of Progress

Here in Texas, McCain should easily carry the vote... well, if the Republican Party would step off and let the nature run its course. Instead, the party is helping turn people toward Obama! The Harris County Party sent out an e-mail telling people there was a talk by McCain open to the public at 2:30, while in fact it was at 4:00. I'm sure people loved waiting around for 2+ hours for the speech! Then to make matters worse, the Republican Party of Texas has started a bumper sticker campaign... with Obama's face on the stickers. "You see, we need to spread the word across our state about Barack Obama and his liberal schemes... So here is your chance to help us devise our official Republican Party of Texas 2008 campaign bumper sticker." Whats next, the national party going to pass out blunts with "Vote Nader" written on them?

In International News

Is the European Union dying? While many EU foreign ministers insist the EU reform treaty was still alive despite Ireland's "No" vote, they conceded they had no quick solutions to rescue it. The only solution so far came from Germany who's foreign minister, who said "There are thoughts about whether the Danish model of 1992 might be a model," referring to wide-ranging opt-outs granted to Denmark that enabled the Danes to endorse the Maastricht Treaty after an initial referendum thumbs-down. If this continues, the EU will be full of loopholes as countries opt out different parts of treaties designed to unify rather than divide.

Southern China has seen weeks of rain leading to horrible flooding which displaced over 1,250,000 people so far. The floods have led to tens of thousands of collapsed homes, 2,120,000 million acres and counting of damaged crops, caused an estimated $1.5 billion in economic losses, and the deaths of 57 people. This region flooded much worse in 2005 according to one resident who added, "The government ignored us then and it's ignoring us now."

China is not the only country having problems with flooding. The United States has seen over $1.5 billion in damages in mid-west flooding, which will lead to high food costs! Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who noted that three weeks of storms had left nine rivers in the state at or above record water levels, and had closed or washed out hundreds of roads, highways and bridges, said "Very few people could anticipate or prepare for that type of event. … We're dealing with something that's historic in proportion." Additionally, the flooding is becoming an increasing threat to corn, wheat and other crops, and the flooding has led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to plan on closing a 200-mile stretch of the Mississippi — the nation's primary trade waterway — to agriculture and cargo ships which will only lead in even high food prices for you the consumer.

Technology In Our Lives

If Al Gore gets recognize for making a movie on global warming, what will Honda get for solving the problem? The FXC Clarity is a new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car that is in production as of today! An actress who is slated to get one this year, but not ever expect to win an Oscar said, "It's like a future machine, but it's not." Honda will lease out a "few dozen" this year and 200 more within a year with a price tag of $600 US a month, which includes maintenance and collision coverage. Check out the pictures... which looks more like a future machine to you?

Your Government at Work

One thing in the economy that is not yet broken is the alcohol business. Beer, Wine and Liquor prices have stayed relatively consisted during the recent economic downturn in the United States, but now government is trying to get in the way of free market, which is never good. Missouri Senator McCaskill and Governor Matt Blunt are both trying to block the sale of Anheuser-Busch Cos. to Belgian brewer InBev. Blunt's baseless argument is about the formation of a monopoly... obviously forgetting about how many other brewers and distributors there are out there! But McCaskill has even less of an argument as she said, "This is not a company that's not successful. This is not a company that's in stress. This is a company that's been profitable year in and year out and has provided good middle-class jobs in America. It feels like to too many people in our country right now that these are the kinds of jobs that are going away." So rather than internationalizing the brand, likely leading to more jobs... you want to stop the sale? Gee, that makes sense.