Random News

Pres. Obama held a prime time televised press conference Tuesday night fielding some tough questions from the White House press corps. When CNN's Ed Henry asked him why he, after learning of the AIG bonuses, waited for two days to express outrage, the president, as politicians often do, sidestepped the question with some verbal banter. Henry repeated his question, and this time Obama glared noticeably and answered, "... because I like to know what I'm talking about..." Liberals defend the president while conservatives point out that he never answered the question.

I'm tough on the president and the Democrats. Any powerful political party can run amok, and one has to keep an eye on them all, for to be a politician by its very nature one has to get dirty. It's a shame that politics are like that. One is beholden to the ones who got one elected, and far too often it's big business and other large contributors that can hold sway after the election. Surprisingly, Obama was able to raise close to $500 million from donations of $200 and less, the names of which can legally be kept anonymous. There's been speculation that large contributions were made in small increments to stay under the FEC's radar.

FDR reassured the public with his "fireside chats." Barack Obama will follow in a digital vein answering queries in a Whitehouse.gov streaming Internet forum 11 AM Thursday. (I should've posted this sooner.)

The Dow Jones industrial average surged almost 500 points on Monday on news of yet another bank bailout, this one to buy out $100 billion worth of toxic assets. This puts the DJIA in its second consecutive week of gains closing today at 7700 give or take a few. It's still a far cry from the 14,000 mark from whence the Dow declined last year leaving many investors with an average 40% loss. Anyone with a 401(k) is probably feeling the sting, and it's anyone's guess how long it will take the stock market to recover -- but it will.

Statistically speaking air flight is one of the safest modes of travel, but this weekend turned tragic when three families heading for a ski resort perished when their plane crashed into a Butte, Montana home. The nature surrounding the crash is still unknown, but the pilot radioed ahead to land some 80 miles ahead of his destination. An F-22 Raptor crashed killing its single test pilot this morning 35 miles outside of Edwards Air Force Base in California. This fighter bomber is the Air Force's most expensive jet costing $150 million each.

On a personal note, I flew from Atlanta to Dulles in a small two prop airplane earlier this year. Cruising at +200 knots at 6000 feet, it took us nearly 2 1/2 hours. It was an air ambulance, and though laying nearly flat on my back, I still had a pretty good view of one of the windows. Prior to taking off, the pilot taxied to the runway and gunned the engines. The plane accelerated quickly and we were soon aloft. Landing can be the trickiest part of flying, but our pilot brought us down gradually and I barely felt the tires touch the runway.