Feed Your Head

We’ve been waiting for this day for almost two years now. If all goes as it should – meaning the GOP doesn’t steal or disallow valid votes – then we should be dancing naked in the streets tonight in utter revelry. For as long as I’ve given a shit about politics (since I was 11), I’ve thought that getting a black man elected president was an impossible pipe dream. Now, we are on the brink and I feel invigorated to be alive. So this is a better time than any to feed your head with some musings on the campaign trail, economic cronyism, terrorist threats, and betting odds on the election:

1.In 1973, journalist Tim Crouse published his seminal campaign trail odyssey “The Boys on the Bus,” which gave a first-hand account of journalists covering the 1972 election. In a effort to reproduce the genius behind this political journalism tome, thedailybeast.com put together a series of “best of ” moments from 2008 campaign trail written by the political reporters who were there from beginning to end. It’s an interesting read, and hilarious at times. Some of my favorite moments include Dennis Kucinich stealing a can of Pringles and mixed nuts from ABC News; McCain aide Mark Salter crooning Bob Dylan classics at a karaoke bar (a Republican singing Dylan is almost an oxymoron). Check it all out at: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-03/the-boys-on-the-bus/

2.Everyone knows by now that the taxpayers will be bailing out the ailing financial industry with at least $700 billion. What you might not know is who gets the money and who’s in charge of dispersing it. Check out Naomi Wolfe’s article in Rolling Stone for the details. You might be shocked to find out that one of the banks getting bailed out – Bank of New York Mellon -- will also be in charge diffusing the money to others. You might also be shocked to find out that little of that money will go to loans for individuals and small businesses, and that a lot of it will be used to fill up bonus pools for fledgling banks. Hooray for cronyism! This article is a must read: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/24012700/the_new_trough


3.According to a Saudi Arabian newspaper, the Saudi Arabian government has prevented 160 US aimed terrorist plots from coming to fruition since 2003. The most heinous of these plots had terrorists blowing up a plane over a major American city. That sounds like some scary shit, but who knows if we can actually trust anything that comes out of Saudi Arabia, especially since 15 of the 19 September 11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. Anyway, check out this Daily Telegraph story for more info: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/3369287/Saudi-Arabia-claims-it-foiled-US-terror-attack.html

4.Lastly, we turn to something a little less serious. In case you didn’t know, betting is big business in the United Kingdom. As such, most British betting parlors have placed odds on and are taking bets on the US election. As it stands, one parlor is offering odds of 13-2 on a McCain victory. A win by Democrat Barack Obama offers a meager payoff, with the Illinois senator a 1-in-12 favorite. In other words, a gambler would have to bet 12 pounds on Obama to win one pound if the Democrat is the victor. Bookmakers are expected to rake in upwards of 10 million pounds. Check out the article here: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Wagers-US-elections-via-British/story.aspx?guid=%7B854A7F18-F329-48B6-A420-0BD0B1B2903E%7D&print=true&dist=printMidSection