This is a very nice and concise explanation of how we got into the current financial mess:

Sometimes the greatest blame comes from great praise when viewed in hindsight. The Los Angeles Times proves that with an article from 1999 heaping praise on the very people most responsible for the credit-market meltdown. Ronald Brownstein lauded the Clinton administration for boosting minority ownership by forcing lenders to offer better terms to marginally-qualified borrowers — and noted the financial creativity from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a crucial component of Bill Clinton’s efforts. It also demonstrates why Congress mandated the failure of the lending system, and why it has to act to fix it (via Hot Air reader abinitoadinfinitum):

Obviously, you will have to go read the whole thing for the full explanation. (And no, I'm not of the opinion that this problem is the fault of one party or the other. It is a bi-partisan problem and there were voices of caution and reason from both sides of the aisle.)

Well, we survived. Brutal winds here but not nearly as bad as some places. Lots of neighbors lost their shingles, but almost all of those were replacement ready. We reroofed last summer and did not lose a shingle. The fences are a different story though - lots of work to do getting things back to the way they were before. Power was out here from about 12:30am Saturday morning until 4:30pm Sunday afternoon. Overall, not too bad. We were well prepared with plenty of water and food and aside from lots of climate discomfort and difficulty sleeping, we came through ok. Here are some pictures...

My own damage:

The neighborhood:

Coping with no power:

Well, so far so good. Lots of wind and plenty of rain, although it was surprising that we did not really see any rain until just about an hour ago. Almost all our neighbors are still around, and there was a big impromptu gathering across the street - maybe 20 people with lawn chairs and plenty of conversation about the wind and hurricanes past. It materialized around 7:00pm and didn't break up until the rain joined the party at about 10:30pm.

Conditions as of midnight are: winds in the 40s with gusts approaching 60. We still have power...although I'm not sure how long that will last. The worst for our area should be about 3 or 4 am. I may set an alarm to check things out then. We shall see. I did hear a power guy on the news saying that if they have as much damage as anticipated, it may take weeks to get the power back on.

Weeks? That's crazy talk. I hope he was either lowering expectations or talking about how long it will take to get power to every single customer, including very remote ones.

Now time for some sleep (and I need to post this before the power goes!)

I enjoyed this little video more than I expected! A little levity is in order as we hunker down and prepare for the Wrath of Ike.

Reuters/Yahoo share a number of images from today's McCain/Palin rally in Fairfax Virginia. I found this one the most impressive:

Yes, I do believe those are people behind those trees. The crowd was estimated at 23,000. (Click the Image to see more)

[McCain has chosen a running mate] whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.

South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler

The Good News: Using that standard, all of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates appear to be qualified.

Even if I want to take them away, I don’t have the votes in Congress.

Barack Obama, when asked about gun control at a campaign event in PA.

My lovely Queen was shopping at Wal-Mart this morning, and as she walked past a older gentleman, he mumbled something to her. She couldn't quite make out what he said so she asked him if he was talking to her. His response was, "Yes - I saw you on television this morning." She was taken aback a bit, so he added, "you know, the new Vice-Presidential nominee."

Now that I think about it, there definitely is at least a passing resemblance - similar hair color and texture, glasses, smiling face, attractive. Anyways, it made her laugh, and me too.