hmm...

Bullet points people, so I don't have to try and find a way to actually tie these things together.

• Happy Rosh Hashanah ya'll! If you celebrate, I hope its good.



• How is everyone else feeling about the financial crisis? Me, well besides brief moments of utter panic about it all (how tight will our wallets be?!)... really I'm not too too concerned for myself. Honestly, Trav and I are so far away from retirement, and we aren't even looking at our stocks at the moment (you only lose if you sell!), so there are a lot of people that it is so much worse for. Were you stunned by the bailout not passing? I was surprised, but not completely shocked. I know a lot of people were though:
  

  World financial markets reeled as stunned lawmakers groped for their next move Monday after House Republicans abandoned President Bush in droves to help kill his $700 billion proposal to rescue the financial services industry.
  
  Even before the vote was announced, stocks began tanking on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average nose-dived by more than 777 points, its worst fall ever, in a sell-off that swept markets around the globe.
  
  ... Ample “no” votes came from both sides of the aisle, but Democratic leaders managed to persuade more than 60 percent of their members to back the measure, while more than two-thirds of Republicans balked at spending so much taxpayer money just before the Nov. 4 elections.
  
  The House canceled plans for a pre-election recess and was scheduled to reconvene Thursday, although no plan of action had yet been worked out.
  
  ... But Republicans who voted against the bill objected, saying the measure did not do enough to protect individual investors and bank account holders.
  
  “New York city fat-cats expect Joe Sixpack to suck it up and foot the bill for their excesses. I think not,” said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas.
  
  [And you have to love this bit they threw in at the end:]
  The campaign of the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, used the occasion as an opportunity to blame Obama for the failure of the measure.
  
  “Barack Obama failed to lead, phoned it in, attacked John McCain, and refused to even say if he supported the final bill,” McCain’s senior policy adviser, Doug Holtz-Eakin, said in a statement. “This bill failed because Barack Obama and the Democrats put politics ahead of country.”
  
  [Um, right. Because those 2/3 of Republicans that voted NO totally did so at Obama's urging. Idiots.]

  
  Hopefully before Thursday they can come up with something amended that will actually be passed. I definitely agree that we need to do something! But I also understand the feeling of not wanting big business bailed out at the expense of the average American who is really struggling. (Here:)
  

  The bill’s failure came despite furious personal lobbying by Bush and support from House leaders of both parties. But the legislation was highly unpopular with the public, ideological groups on the left and the right organized against it, and Bush no longer wielded the influence to leverage tough votes. Even pressure in favor of the bill from some of the biggest special interests in Washington, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Realtors, could not sway enough votes.
  
  ... Immediately following the vote, Republican leaders blamed their failure to secure more votes on the partisan tone of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pre-vote speech on the House floor. “There were a dozen members who we thought ... we had a really good chances of getting on the floor,” said Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio. “And all that evaporated with that speech.”
  
  Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the gruff but quick-witted chairman of the House banking committee, countered, “Give me the names of those 12 people and I’ll go talk uncharacteristically nice to them.”
  
  ... Blunt, noting that the House would break for the Jewish holidays until Thursday, said, “We are going to have a couple days to see how the marketplace reacts to all this, and maybe that’s a good thing.”
  
  How the House voted
  Yes No
  Democrats 140 95
  Republicans 65 133
  Total 205 228
  
  ... [And again:] The two men campaigning to replace Bush watched the situation closely — from afar — and demanded action.
  
  In Iowa, Republican John McCain said that Obama and congressional Democrats “infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame; it’s time to fix the problem.”
  
  Obama said, “Democrats, Republicans, step up to the plate, get it done.”

  
  Ugh. Anyway, moving on.



• Um, can you believe its the last day of September?! Where they hell did the month go? I honestly can't believe it. And I can't believe we're still working on the damn guest bedroom!! Lol.



• This Friday is TWO WEEKS untils my walk!!! Holy hell that's close. I'm getting slightly more nervous as it approaches... mostly because it feels so surreal. Can it really be here already?
  Anyway, as you can see above I'm at 69% of my fundraising goal... and I would love your support! There is a link to the left where you can donate online securely. Please support me, even if its only for a few bucks. It's a great cause, and every dollar counts. Thanks.

Really, that's all I've got for today. Ate lots of beef stew last night and it was good. Worked on the floor some and will do more tonight. For now, I have a bunch of work to do, and need to get to it since I want to run out to do some quick shopping at lunch (impending anniversary and birthdays). So, off I go!