SPOOKED!!!!

The American Consumer is scared. Holman Jenkins wrote a fantastic piece on the WSJ about how the supply of money isn't really in short supply, it's the demand. Americans are caught in a vicious cycle of savings!!!!

Now, I'm joking slightly, but the truth is because we're told how bad things are out there, how they're only going to get worse, how for the last 18 months we heard about "failed policies" ad nauseum, and we watch Congress and the President cram though enough spending to fund the Iraq war (AGAIN) in three weeks, it scares us. Lots of folks have lost their jobs (so they can't be spending), but I know personally, after we got a little bonus, we went a little crazy with spending, but we've dialed back too.

I've lost my faith that the government can spend our way out of this mess. My friend Geoff suggested to me that the government could consider, rather than giving the money to the banks and demanding they lend, give it to the homeowners (ALL of them, not just the idiots who borrowed too much because someone said they could) a one time voucher to be used to substantially reduce their first mortgage debt. It would help with the folks who's mortgages are inverted, spur purchases and refinances, and ALL the homeowners would benefit.

How about it???

Promotion Across Multiple Platforms=AWESOME

So, Brooke and I were catching up on "How I Met Your Mother" or HIMYM and I'm dumbfounded that this show doesn't have stronger ratings.

One plot line had Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) speaking of his "video resume" on www.barneysvideoresume.com (it was LEGENDARY) and I figured I'd see if it really exists, and yup, it does.

Marquette 94 Georgetown 82

What a fantastic time we had yesterday in Milwaukee. We drove up a little early and hit the Alumni store. We got t-shirts for the boys and I snarfed a sweet MU fleece. Then went to Sprecher for some root beer syrup for the boys and a case of "treats" for daddy (which will tide me over probably until the summer). After that we hit the Bradley Center for the big game. I saw Len Kasper at the game and said a quick hello, we (me, Brookie and the boys dined on hot dogs and french fries) and headed to our wonderful seats. Court side, we were not...section 418, row Q, this is the LAST ROW. We all had a fantastic time. I texted Matt Liskh, my roommate from Sophomore year and we wandered over to visit him during the first half.

The boys loved the game, and especially the victory. We hit Kopps for some custard and brought home a half gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough.

A wonderful, wonderful time was had by all.

Grrrr.....

So I'm reading today's Chicago Tribune and I turn to Page 6 of the Play section and Ellen Warren's column, "Bargins, of Course" and I'm OUTRAGED by not just the behavior of Lenore Wineger, 69, porfessor of early childhood education at UW-Oshkosh of Wilmette, but by our Federal Government for apparently pissing away my tax dollars.

Ellen's question: "And what brought you out to the mall today?", her response. "I just got a FEDERAL GRANT, so I wanted to treat myself [with lunch at] Joes's [Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab] and buying my funky watch. It was $104.90, reduced from about $125 at Nordstrom".

My tax dollars are going to this nitwit so she can treat herself to a fancy lunch and get 15% off at retail on a funky watch!!!

What the hell is wrong with people????

Wii

Wii got one today. Between Cam and Ethan, they had a fair amount of gift cards at Toys R Us and some birthday and Christmas money. Rather than blow it on toys they may play with for a little while, Brooke and I agreed to pitch in the rest of the cost and get them something they REALLY wanted, could fight over all the time, and want us to spend more money on (I'm kind of kidding about the last two items).

Stripper Pole = Fitness Pole

I think this is HILARIOUS!!!! Flirty Girl Fitness is marketing stripper poles to women, but calling them "fitness" poles. As a male, I think this is wonderful, especially since I'm not raising daughters.

I've got to tell you though, I don't think this is a good thing for children to see. For adults, I don't see the harm in spicing things up and dropping a few LBS in the process, but really, do we want children to see this and start associating stripper behavior with a healthy lifestyle?

Here's the link: http://www.flirtygirlfitness.com/

Barney Frank

Honestly, HOW does this guy look at himself in the mirror? HOW does he continue to get away with his political patronage game. First he oversaw the financial failure of Fannie/Freddie (not only ignoring, but SHOUTING DOWN calls for reform YEARS ago) who happened to be contributing to his campaign, NOW he's gone to bat for OneUnited Bank in Boston and given them a check for 12 MILLION DOLLARS of FEDERAL TAXPAYER money because they are FOB (Friends of Barney).

The good news is OneUnited Bank has provided a company car for use by the executives, it's a PORSCHE. Yeah, they spend almost as responsibly as our "friends" in Congress.

These clowns in Washington are issuing blank checks to friends of theirs and letting others fail (because they're not as connected), and they're using MY MONEY to do it.

Where's the "Change I can believe in?"

Or doesn't that apply to conservatives?

Read ALL about it on this link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258284337504295.html#printMode