I Got a Gift Card For Christmas

I got a Gift Card for Christmas, and I'm looking for places to spend it on-line. Electronic money is new to me so it raises some questions about currency, banking and the economy in general.

Banks were the first to issue currency in America, then the Federal Government and now I don't know who is in control of currency. Money is supposed to be portable. Whether it's a gold coin or a paper bill. Certainly I can carry this plastic money with me, but is the money really in my pocket?

What happens if the electricity fails? I'm supposed to have some control over my money, control that I share with who-ever issued it. It seems that someone far far away has total control over my supposedly portable currency, and that brings me to the economic crisis that the world is facing.

Where did the money go? Who was controlling all that money that seems to have vanished? I'm not in control of my money, my elected officials obviously lost track of it somewhere along time ago and I doubt very seriously if anyone on Wall Street knows anymore than the rest of us...

I suspect there's a little room somewhere deep inside a computer complex, where several computer geeks are hiding, afraid to come out, and asking each other,

"Did you press the delete button? Are you sure we can't 'undelete' all that capital? You know, if anyone finds out, we're going to be in big big trouble ...ssshhh ...someone's coming..."

  

Americans have lost trillions of dollars to banks and businesses that refuse to disclose where they are putting the money. Maybe they put it all on a little plastic card, and are trying to get those geeks in the basement to put it back 'on-line' before anyone realizes what really happened.

I have this dreadful feeling that the situation is more like the Jesse James strategy ( he committed the first daylight bank-robbery in America ). He said,

"If you're going to rob a bank on one end of town, light a fire on the other end of town."

I'll be looking to spend my $50 plastic scrip today, as I have real doubts about it's durability in today's economy. 

Turn Out The Lights

I subscribe ( rss ) to whitehouse.gov, the official White House website for the Bush Administration. Soon, it will be time to turn out the lights, and shut down the site.

What will the last post be? Error 404? Redirect to change.gov? Or, will the last post hang in limbo as so may forgotten blogs, and failed business sites do?

Perhaps Barry will move in, and remodel the site. I've always admired the cool-blue theme of George's page, but I imagine Barry would want to 'change' things a little...

What's your thoughts?

The World is Watching - Obama

Throughout the recent Presidential Election in the US, I was continually amazed at the attention that the foreign press, and even foreign governments were showing in the race. When Obama won the election, it didn't seem like the attention diminished, it seems like it developed and grew.

Many have concluded that Obama's success was primarily the result of his focus on the inter-net as a tool to reach the young voters of America. In the process, Obama seems to have reached out and embraced a larger world. This 'inclusion' is a first, there has been no ascent to power witnessed by so many, from so far. 

Obama transformed his election team into a transition team, and his much heralded inter-net blog into a platform for change. It has been reported widely that the out-going President Bush provided support for the transition team by allowing nearly one hundred of his top administration leaders to work with Obama's staff to facilitate a smooth, seamless transition. A transition made easier still by the retention of several of Bush's team leaders.

Obama's Administration is taking form, and much to the surprise of the pundits and the press, he has selected many of his top administrators and Cabinet Members from the center/right wing of government. Obama's political talents have been compared to that of a fiddle player, that is he holds the instrument ( liberals that brought him to power ) in his left hand, and plays ( employs the skills of conservatives ) with his right hand.

What holds this team together? It's more than just the charisma of their new boss, it is a well thought out agenda. I'm wondering if the world is ready for such transparency in politics. But, if you're interested, here are a few links that detail Obama's policy agenda.

• Civil Rights
• Defense
• Disabilities
• Economy
• Education
• Energy and Environment
• Ethics
• Family
• Fiscal
• Foreign Policy
• Health Care
• Homeland Security

• Immigration
• Iraq
• Poverty
• Rural
• Seniors and Social Security
• Service
• Taxes
• Technology
• Urban Policy
• Veterans
• Women
• Additional Issues

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll give my readers a year to wade through all this...stuff!