The Senate passed the $700 billion bailout plan yesterday in an attempt to put pressure on the House.  Message to the House members who voted against it the first time:

Please don’t approve this bill just because they attached a few things that you want.  Stick to the reasons you voted against is in the first place.  If a bill comes before you with twenty things that you want and one that you are diametrically opposed to you shouldn’t vote for it.

I suppose this is as good a time as any for another poll.  Let me know what you think.  Give me a comment and tell me why.

Click here to read the news story covering this.

Brian

Yesterday, as I am sure most of you are aware, the planned bailout of the financial system failed in the House of Representatives.  This was a surprise to me.  I expected most of the people in our government to see government as the answer to this problem.  I am very happy that they voted in accordance with what their constituents asked of them.  Apparently a majority of Republicans and close to a majority of Democrats voted against it.  I applaud them.  And now we are about to get round two.

The Senate is getting another verison of the bill ready with some “sweetners” (read bribes) in it for those who voted against it.  If they voted against the bailout out of principle then it will fail again.  If those who voted against it now vote for it based on a few additions then they don’t deserve to be in office.  I can’t think of anything they could add that would make this bailout worth voting for.  It is a bribe, plain and simple.

I guess the question now is, will it fail a second time and, if it does, how many times will our Congress attempt to pass this thing?

Click here to read an article that details out some of these “sweeteners”.

Brian

Just another quick fireplace update.  There will probably be several of these in the next week.  We put up the tile on the front of the fireplace this evening.  And yes, that is duct tape.  The two pieces in the top middle needed some support.  Nice, huh?  Anyway, the next step is grouting the tile and then we will be on to the mantle.  I am hoping to have the mantle done this week end.  That’s it for now.  Pretty isn’t it?  Let me know what you think.

Oh, and just for grins, here is a little doodle I did that will give you an idea of what it will look like when completed.  Yes, I used Crayons.

Brian

There have been too few of these updates on what is going on with our renovation projects.  That is a direct result of the speed at which these projects are going.  Very slow.  But there is progress nonetheless and we should be seeing the progress speed up.

As you can see from the picture above most of the white paint that covered our fireplace has been scrapped off and some tile has been laid around the base of it.  We will be putting tile up on the face of the fire place very soon and then comes the mantle and posts followed closely with the fire place insert.  At the earliest this project will be finished up around October 7th.  We have had quiet a few delays but things are going relatively smoothly again.  Yay!  I will have more updates soon.

Brian

As the government draws closer to finalizing plans to bail out (read prop up) the financial system there is no shortage of commentators talking about it.  I have already joined the fray but I will again briefly.  I have heard several people saying that, as conservatives, they think people should have to bear the responsibility for their actions.  I agree with this.  If banks have given out loans that were to risky, they should have to bear the consequence that comes with that risk (good or bad).  If people take out loans that allow them to live above their means they must also bear the consequences of those choices.  Maybe they will be more careful next time.  Happiness is not a right.  It will be pursued but it is not guaranteed.  If the government has allowed and encouraged these things to happen people should reconsider who they elect and what role government should play in these matters.

The same commentators who espoused personal responsibility, in the next breath said that they understood why this bailout must happen.  What they are really saying is that if the bailout does not happen then their way of life will have to change and they don’t want that.

I am of the opinion that when we bear responsibility for our actions, even if it means that we fall flat on our face for a time, we will rise a better person for it.  When we have to face something hard it makes us stronger.  If a child totals their first car, driving recklessly, and then their parents pay off the loan on that car and buy them a new one, what did that child learn?  If, instead, the child must save up money for the first car then he is less likely to be careless with it.  We take care of what we care for.  If we have no reason to care for it (because someone else will take care of it) then we will wreck it again and again.

I have to admit that I don’t want my life to change because of this.  We could have gotten a much larger house than we did.  We could have credit card debt.  We could live paycheck to paycheck and not save for the future.  But we have made choices not to do those things.  I am not a part of the problem as far as these things are concerned.  But if our country has to fall on its financial face in order for my kids and grandkids to have a more responsible country overall then so be it.   If we prop things up now the fall will be so much harder at a later time.

We are living during a brief time in history when a stable life is possible.  Change is the norm, not stability.  We can’t hold on to stable thinking that change will never come.  If we do, when change does come, it will be so much harder.

A bail out now means that our lives will continue as “normal” for the most part.  If we don’t bail out our financial system we will probably fall into some hard times but people will learn a valuable lesson.  I doubt the latter will happen.  Remember this, a bail out does not fix the hole in the ship.  The ship has to be fixed or else we will continue to find ourselves with pail in hand, tossing water overboard.

Brian