Could anything be more perfect than Heidi Klum.

Spectacular in every way.

In 19 days we have a responsability to go to our polling locations and make what can be the most important choice in our nations history. We are at a critical moment in time. Our economy is suffering, our education system rated far below the international standard, our health care system is in need of help, social security is drying up. The list can go on. So without trying to get you to vote for one or the other of the candidates in the election I want to do something else. I want to plea for you to think about some things:

THE MEDIA - spins their stories towards the candidate that best represents the organizations idiology.  For example, FOX news is pro-republican, where CNN is pro-democrat. So be careful where you get your facts from. For each issue, the media outlets will spin it their way, leaving out critical information or flat out making up information in hopes of swaying voters.

THE ISSUES- pick the issues that are most important to you. No one candidate is going have the same outlook on all of your issues. You need to rate them from highest to lowest of importance, giving each issue a score. Find out how the candidates feel about your issue and then judge which candidate scores more points with your way of thinking

THINK long term. Realize that change is not going to take place overnight. So when you vote, vote for the candidate who you think has the best ability to do long term good.

FORGET the parties. Just because your parent is a republican does not mean you have to be one. I read a report that said over 85% of all people who claim a party do so because of the influence of their parents. Know the issues, know each politicians view and vote for the person, not the party.

NO MATTER WHAT - go vote. Not voting means you don’t care. Yet when the shit hits the fan and you disagree with what is going on in your nation you have no right to complain because you didn’t participate. Not voting is a horrible, do your civic duty.

LASTLY- Being politically educated empowers you and is FUN.

I can’t believe how blind Americans are to what is happening right now with all the money being given out to stop the financial crisis. Do you realize that the Federal government is “saving” these companies which is really only helping the upper class? The bottom line is very simple. Banks were unscrupulous in giving out home loans to people who didn’t meet the criteria.  These people who didn’t deserve these loans knew it, but would do anything to get a home. So they accepted these loans with non-fixed interest rates. When the rates went up, they could no longer afford their loan, defaulted, foreclosed and wham, the engine of disaster was ignited. It gets more complicated than that of course but the bottom line is the bank giving up loans that they knew couldn’t be paid.

I know a guy, a very good guy who does the same thing in a sense. Although he is more upfront about it. He does a loan called a Seller By Back (I think that is what he calls it). Basically he as the home owner is the mortgage company. He maintains the title of the home hence owns the home. The buyer, who can’t afford a real mortgage pays him and lives in the house with an agreement that the mortgage cost is X dollars for the next 5 years. At the end of the 5 years, the interest rate will double and the payment will go up. The agreement is that they will have to re-finance with a standard mortgage company before those 5 years are up. At the end of the five years, the couple who owns the house still can’t get a loan and they have to pay a huge mortgage payment they cant afford. They foreclose back to my friend and he retains the house, kicks out the family paying for 5 years and re-sells the house again to someone else. Meanwhile, he has pocketed the mortgage payments for five years.

I think it is a crappy deal, but the person buying the house appreciates it. Most people are able after the five years to get a standard mortgage and it is a win-win with my buddy being a hero because he gave them a chance at a house they could never get before.

I am off the topic. Why should banks, CEO’s and executives get bailed out for their bad practices. Why should the federal government reward them like this? As the low man on the totem pole I would never get “bailed” out by the government.

If the government wants to help the middle class, how about buying all the credit card debt people are carrying and wipe the slate clean. Then reform the credit card industry, where credit has to be backed by secure funds (Lets say, 50% deposited money to 50% credit). As the user approaches their 50% deposit, their credit limit shrinks and interest rate goes up. Pay off the balance and your interest rate goes down. A slide, the more risk past your deposit amount, the more painful it because for the user. Make it to where the credit card limit is lowered each month for the person not paying it back down below the deposit level. Good behavior = great terms, bad behavior means you end up losing the deposit and the card. Can you imagine how a fresh start could help the average joe?

I am still off topic. AIG execs spent $440,000 on spa treatments a few weeks after the bailout of 85 Billion dollars. Is that fair? They are planning more of these spa parties and at five a year cost the average tax payer 2 Million dollars, on spa treatments. Fuck that. The government shouldn’t be bailing out these folks.

The government needs to step in and help the people who really need help. Those of us who work hard during the day and don’t abuse the system. CEO’s, CIO’s, CFO’s all get hefty pay for the work others do. TIme to even it out and help the middle class.

I have to admit that I am leaning in the direction of Obama for this election. Many people ask me why I would vote this way knowing how serious the problems are in the USA and I can only respond that, for me, it really comes down to how much do I trust the long term potential of each candidate and more importantly, what kind of people are going to surround the candidate once in office to help them do a good job.

No president really does anything on their own. They have a very wide reaching staff that helps create the doctrine and do the work. In essence, being the president is just like being a CEO of a company. Internally the CEO really doesn’t do much, it is the workers the company hires that creates the product, markets it to the world and supports it. Without the workers, the CEO wouldn’t be very successful. Don’t get me wrong, CEO’s in general do work, and they are valuable, but CEO’s can be replaced. The entire workforce for a company cannot.

So how does this fit in with McCain? I see him surrounding himself with old war hereos, generals and big time over paid wealthy people who have no real fresh ideas on how to change the country for the better. To me, a vote for McCain is just another vote for the same Republican crap that has made America stink over the last eight years. As a republican voter, I just can’t let it continue. So this year I have switch to being a democrat, which is a huge step in a (mis) direction for me.

On the Obama side, he is younger, more savy. He doesn’t creak when he walks and a single fall down the stairs would probably not result in a broken hip. His ideas are fresh, more America centric and although naive in some cases are more well rounded to where we need to go to prosper. He is not perfect and has some issues but overall I believe he will surround himself with people who share a vision for making the kind of changes we Americans would be proud of.

I also don’t trust Susie Q homemaker Palin, yes she is hot and Tina Fey is a thinner hotter version, but that does not account for the game I feel she is playing. She knows how to be a politician, but she plays up the cute girl, I am one of you and not a politician act on camera that makes me just want to puke. Winking and swaying, cute little terms that are not very presidentail. Can you imagine her going to a foriegn leader and saying, gee, gosh, I just met you, can I call you Fred? And shucky darn, wouldn’t it be cool to roast some Moose over an open spit while we talk about nuclear proliferation? Americans always complain about politicians being too stuffy and proper, in this case, I would take stuffy and polished over the “Hockey Mom” crap she is trying to pull.

So I think that if I could ever sway someone to do something, I would sway towards pushing McCain down a flight of stairs so that he would break his hip. He just seems so Bush like, stubborn, old, creaky, ready to die on the podium at any moment. The man shakes and looks sick and weak. I honor him for his military service and what he has tried to do for America, I just feel he is about 30 years past his prime.

Don’t recall if she had been selected yet, but you can’t ignore Vida Guerra.  Baby got back, front and sideways.  Face down, cheeks up baby.  

I don’t know if you can equate the sinking of the Titanic to the repeated collapses by baseballs worst franchise. Two years in a row, the team was in the drivers seat going into the end of the season, two years in a row the team completely collapses, finding them outside the playoff bracket and wondering what the hell went wrong.

Of course, this is all just humorous because living on Long Island I am subjected to horror of working with Met Fans. Most of whom, now would probably duck and cover when probed about their loyalty to this team, who in my mind is worse than the Bad News Bears. So in tribute to the recent collapse, I decided to come in this weekend to work and decorate the cubicle of one of the fans who has been the loudest proclaimer of mets superiority over this season.

Overall, there were 8 different sayings, with around 70 sheets of paper used. They were placed all over his desk, floor, walls, inside his desk, laptop bags, attached to monitors etc. It of course, looked better in person but oh well….you get the picture

Continuing our obsession with exotic brunettes, here is:

Italian calendar pin up, model, actress Melita Toniolo. Her hip bones are a little pointy, but a good dose of frothy spunk-o-chino will have Que Bella back in the pink.   She’s taking a peek at the groin treats in pic 1.

Scared to have your money in the bank? Stock Market? Crap…anywhere at all except for under your mattress? So am I. Here is my survival guide:

1) Consolidate your fun - meaning, do you really need 2 cars, a boat, an ATV and two dirt bikes?
2) Expenditures - lower them. Sacrifice is a necessity with the economy in turmoil
3) Simple Pleasures - enjoy them. Go to the beach, go outdoors, most of the time, it is free
4) Ditch the name brands for store brands. I saved over $150 this month by buying Stop & Shop over Kraft and you know what, it tasted the same.
5) Try other modes of transportation such as car pooling, ride sharing, bus and bikes
6) Loose some weight and start exercising more, you would be studies show that the more you activity and exercise you participate in the less money you spend on crap.

The main thought in your head should be do more for less. Take those savings and stash it away safely.