Good Morning.

Depressions and Recessions can sure make people do silly things. I don't know if there's any stats about it, but it's not hard to imagine a few more people huddled around the slots or the craps tables at Foxwoods, Atlantic City, or Las Vegas...hoping against hope for that big payoff.

Or maybe there's been a little uptick in the government supported gambling that most of us call 'the lottery'. I don't know if it's good or bad, but we have a local candidate for governor (Tim Cahill, I-MA) that's running primarily on his record in running "the best managed and most profitable state lottery in the country.

But is it a good idea to hope for that one big payoff?

I know what I'd do. To quote a phrase, "I've got a lot of old debts I've got to pay off with this stuff." (Yes, bonus points. Be specific.) We could use some new cars, a house would be nice, and with a big enough payoff we could travel again and maybe I could even go to flight school.

But that's all an untoward fantasy, methinks. Just pulling something out of my arse, have you noticed that no Powerball winner has come from east of the Mississippi river? What's up with that?

Of course, the whole game is rigged. More than a decade ago, one of my friends was able to cobble together $500 and he bought an unopened book of scratch tickets from his uncle, who happened to be a lottery agent. After spending the afternoon scratching away...he didn't even break even.

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2 comments (Latest Comment: 10/03/2010 14:28:15 by velveeta jones)

Over the past week, much has been said about VP Joe's Biden's comments about bucking up and voting. It was a message sent towards members of the Democratic Party that have been voicing that they may stay at home this November. The strategy is indeed questionable, as I am not a fan of "Quit Yer Whining Motivation" but given the alternative, he may very well have a point.
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25 comments (Latest Comment: 10/01/2010 02:47:49 by Raine)

As we come down the final stretch of this campaign season, there's one thing we can always count on - political ads. You know the type - they start grainy and ominous, describing how a candidate is one of the devil's own, with unflattering black and white photos. Then - it suddenly becomes warm & fuzzy and full color, describing the virtues of the other candidate, with the de rigeur ending of "I'm ______ and I approve this message". There is a reason for that last bit - it's required by law. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 made it a requirement to minimize anonymous attack ads.
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67 comments (Latest Comment: 10/01/2010 02:44:17 by Raine)

Last week the Republican House leadership unveiled it's 'Pledge To America'. As BobR succinctly pointed out last week: "Oddly enough, it's a pastiche of talking points that we've all heard before, none of which they seemed to be interested in pursuing back in the early 2000s when they we're actually in charge. It's also strangely reminiscent of Newt Gingrich's Contract With America." Of course it was met with critisicm from the left-- that is to be expected, but it was also met with sharp critique from conservatives as a sell out and a 'political blowjob'. Over at RedState.com, it was declared 'dreck' and Perhaps the Most Ridiculous Thing to Come Out of Washington Since George McClellan . Wes Benedict, the director of the National Libertarian party says that the GOP owes America an apology

Here is the thing. This pledge is more than just talking points. The GOP is sending a clear message: Vote for us now and we will answer the questions about the how later. It's not just with this pledge, it's a recurring theme among the GOP. John Beohner said of the 'plan' quite clearly this weekend with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday: To paraphrase: Let's not get into potential solutions, just understand there is a really big problem, vote for us, and we will talk about it later.
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21 comments (Latest Comment: 09/27/2010 22:48:43 by trojanrabbit)

Okay, okay..... it's time that Velveeta comes clean. I've been doing some soul searching and I think I am now prepared to come out and say.... I was a member of the "coven" that Christine O'Donnell spoke of.

Yes, it is true! But, I was young and misguided - there was also a cute boy involved. Let's just say I've changed a lot since then; matured into a normal woman that believes that America was founded by Jesus and given to us to have domain over the land, to hunt and fish and genetically modify the fruit and to cut taxes for the wealthy people who create jobs. People like Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber.

But, as usual, I have digressed.
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3 comments (Latest Comment: 09/26/2010 20:53:42 by BobR)