To Bail Out The U.S. Auto Companies? I Think NOT

There is discussion on Capitol Hill right now on whether or not the U.S. government should give the U.S. Big 3 auto makers $25 billion to help them out. I say, "Heck no!" Why do I think that way? Well, for one, nobody's buying cars right now. Japanese CARS have been better deals for years, anyway- they last longer than American cars. The American companies have been building those gas-guzzling things for years, too, and making big profits on them. Now that people have seen that they can and will be vulnerable if they continue to buy SUVs and trucks, they will think twice before going down that road again in the future. Face it- the future is in electric cars and hybrids. The only way that any of the big 3 automakers who want money now should be given any money at all is if they agree to scuttle the cars that they make now, and begin production on proven hybrid and electric cars. If any money is given out, why not also give some to Tesla Motors, an up-and-coming car company that makes stylish electric cars. Or, why doesn't one of the big 3 get an idea to combine with Tesla in a government-assisted transaction. If anybody gets any money, they'd better not simply settle for letting things proceed as they have- or it will simply be a delay of the demise of the American-owned auto industry. Well, we'll still have Saturn- that's American owned, right? They also still build Toyotas here- so there will still be some car manufacturing jobs here. I say- if nobody's buying the cars they're making because nobody wants the cars that they're making, then they should stop making those cars. If the companies won't listen, then let them go out of business!

"Single Ladies" fan-spliced video, with Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and the Guys on SNL

This is the "Single Ladies" video and song by Beyonce, spliced with the video skit on Saturday Night Live featuring Beyonce and Justin Timberlake, along with Andy Samberg. In the skit on SNL, Beyonce's making a video for her hit, "Single Ladies", and the director decides to use 3 guys for the video instead of girls to back up Beyonce. In this video Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg and another guy are dressed in black leotards and women's pumps. They are dancing with Beyonce, and trying to do her moves. Justin's actually pretty good at the moves! Kinda interesting, since Beyonce's real video for "Single Ladies" also has 2 guys in it allegedly, but those guys are either transvestites or transgendered, I heard. Anyway, you can see a marriage of both videos right here.

A 1-800 DENTIST Commercial That You Will Never See on TV

This is a crazy 1-800 DENTIST Commercial that you will never see on TV. It's good!

High School Musical 3 Sara Lee Commercial - Regular

This is the High School Musical 3 Sara Lee Commercial, featuring 4 stars from the movie. It's a fun commercial that kind of makes me want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and to dance.

Sara Lee High School Musical 3 Video (Corbin Bleu Showcased Version)

This is the popular Sara Lee Commercial featuring the cast of "High School Musical 3", but it showcases Corbin Bleu. This video is different than the other main commercial, where 3 other cast members also get a fair amount of screen time.

Got Milk? - White Gold Commercial

This is the popular commercial in California about "White Gold" - a guy who became a super rocker by drinking milk from a guitar, which he received from an angel.

White Gold IS White Gold - One Gallon Axe a.k.a. "It's Supernatural"

This is the White Gold video promoting milk. It is called, "One Gallon Axe", but from the commecial, you might think it's called "It's Supernatural".

Disney's California Adventure Coming Expansion Details

This video talks about the transformation that is coming for "Disney's California Adventure" Theme Park at the Disneyland Resort. Tonight I saw this video for the first time, and thought that it should be available for the average 15 people who visit the "Ransom Think" blog every day. The new ideas coming to the Park look really cool- especially the new "Carthay Circle Theater"! All the changes that are shown in this video were announced last year by The Disneyland Resort. "Toy Story Mania" is already open at California Adventure and is quite popular.

Happy Birthday, Kathy Griffin

Today is Kathy Griffin's birthday. Happy Birthday, Kathy. I saw you on "Dancing With The Stars" earlier this evening, clapping for Lance Bass. I saw you on Larry King Live the other night, too.

Anyway, it's easy for me to remember your birthday. Why? Because today (Nov. 4th) is my birthday, too. I'm 4 years younger than you, remember? You probably don't. In fact, you probably don't even remember me. We met several months ago at your house. Your people haven't called me to come back since then. I'm still waiting.

Weird Science- The Bitch Kneed My Nuts

This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie, "Weird Science", when Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) gets really drunk and starts telling this story.

Quack, Quack, Quack, Donald Duck

This song, "Quack, Quack, Quack, Donald Duck", which is being sung by Jimmie Dodd, is memorable for me from my days working at The Disney Store. I remember this cast member, Adrienne, doing this little dance and singing along to this song every time it played. Those were good times! This song is from one of Disney's Sing-Along Songs- the one called "Supercalifragilistiexpialidocious".

Voyage Into Space- The Last 5 Minutes (Giant Robot)

When I was a kid I used to watch this movie all the time- it came on TV all the time- maybe I've seen it 30 times. I remember Johnny Sokko and Giant Robot, and Guillotine, and all the monsters in this movie. It was cool- they should re-release this in theaters sometimes just for fun, but maybe in 3D.

The Classic Underdog End Credits (Syndicated Version) Music

Out of all the music I have ever heard in my life, this music at the end of this video is perhaps the most pervasive in my mind, and the most disturbing. It was disturbing for me as a 4 year old kid, and it always takes me back to that point when I hear it. I don't know what it is, but the end credits of the classic Underdog cartoon has really creepy music, in my opinion. That "post no bills" sign in here is significant, too, because I had never really understood that in the cartoon until I later saw realy signs (as a late teenager) saying "Post No Bills" on construction sites.

The Classic Underdog Cartoon Intro

This was my favorite TV show when I was about 4 years old. The music and the images in this cartoon are forever emblazoned in my mind. Underdog was cool- I liked his power, and he could fly really fast.

I Can't Wait for Obama to Be President

I really can't wait for Barack and Michelle Obama to have the White House as their home. It will be nice to know that someone who is really for all people will be President, and not just somebody who looks out only for rich people. It will be a nice Christmas this year, despite the bad economy.

Carol Burnett Show: Cinderella Gets It On

This is a VHS video of the Carol Burnett Show Collector's Edition, number 25. I have searched far and wide to find something like this, and now, after some help from a cool guy on Ebay who listed all of the contents of all the episodes for this show, I have found what I was looking for.

This video contains a true classic on television: the Emmy-award winning skit on "The Carol Burnett Show" called "Cinderella Gets It On" produced in 1975, which was the show's version of Cinderella. It stars Carol Burnett as Cinderella, the Pointer Sisters as the Stepsisters, Vicki Lawrence as the Stepmother, Harvey Korman as Fairy Godmother Marcus, and Tim Conway as the King of Rock himself, Elfin John.

This skit was great on several fronts: the comedy is classic, the music is really good (won an Emmy), the costumes are great (also won an Emmy), and all of the performers are in rare form. This is by far my favorite skit ever on "The Carol Burnett Show", and I have not seen it since it aired on CBS back in 1975 (although I had an audio tape of it for years- my sister stole it from me and I've never seen it again).

My Favorite Disney Resort

I have stayed at most of the Disney Resort hotels at Walt Disney World in Florida. My absolute favorite one there is Disney's Villas at the Wildnerness Lodge. Why, you may ask? Well, because I love theme of a big, old lodge made out of logs- the kind of place that you might find at Yellowstone National Park. It's built right next to a lake, and there are pine trees out back between the resort and the lake. The pool area there is cool, too- there are several pools and a hot tub. There's even a geyser. The Resort is located near the Magic Kingdom theme park, which is accessible by Disney Transport bus or by boat, which heads over to the Magic Kingdom every 10 or 15 minutes.

What about the Wilderness Lodge? Does that have better accommodations that the Villas, you may ask? Well, no. The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge is actually the newest part of the Wildnerness Lodge, and is part of the Disney Vacation Club. The rooms at the Villas are all larger than the ones at the main Wilderness Lodge, and have the comforts of home- it is timeshare, after all. The interiors of the rooms are spectacular- simply will blow you away. The Resort also offers 24-hour room service, so you can dine any time you want!

The main inn at the Wilderness Lodge is great, with great dining places and shopping. At the general store inside the resort, you can buy food and souvenirs, and you can even rent movies! (I rented "High School Musical" when I was there 2 weeks ago!) Movie rentals are free for Disney Vacation Club members. There is also a gym at the Resort (called "Sturdy Branches", located on the Villas side. For recreation, boat and bike rentals are also available at the Resort.

I can't wait to go back to the Villas at the Wildnerness Lodge. It' my favorite Disney Resort (my next favorite is Disney's Grand Californian Resort at the Disneyland Resort in California, which looks like it could be its cousin!)

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin (with Amy Poehler as Katie Couric) from Saturday Night Live

This is a skit on the 4th interview of Sarah Palin by Katie Couric. Tina Fey comes back to Saturday Night Live to give an excellent parody of Sarah Palin. I would never vote for Sarah Palin, but I love Tina Fey's portrayal, and I actually like Sarah Palin as a person.

The Bailout Revisited

The problem with the "bailout for banks" which was just signed into law was that originally, the President did not explain to the public exactly what it was supposed to accomplish. Now that it's been spelled out ( in a good speech by the President yesterday), I understand it more, and I could definitely see the need. It's true- banks have not been lending very many people money. As a matter of facts, a lot of people took their money out of the banks, making it even tougher for the banks to lend. It will probably take a little while for people to relax and spend.

The Government Bailout of the Banks: To Do, Or Not To Do?

I've been considering whether or not the U.S. Government should bail out the banks with taxpayer money. That's 700 Billion Dollars, mind you. Who came up with that amount? I guess it's to help keep failing banks in business. But why?

After some careful consideration, I think that they should simply let the damn banks do what they have to do. Don't lend them a dime of taxpayer money. Let the market do what it will do. If it falls, maybe some of us with a little money left can get a good deal on some stocks. People are going to have to sacrifice anyway. So many people have lost their homes already- what happened to the loans that Congress talked about- the mandate that banks were going to renegotiate loan terms so that interest rates would have been lowered, so that payments would have been affordable? What happened to that plan? Why is there this big "giveaway" to the banks? If the banks take the "loans" and go out of business anyway, guess what? The government will be left with nothing to show for it. Already, the biggest bank, Washington Mutual, was already seized and given to another big company- the government couldn't help that bank in time. Frankly, I think that everybody is panicking now- overreacting really.

I've witnessed at least a couple of lousy bills passed under this current presidential administration, that have made Americans worse off: the bill concerning drugs for seniors; and the new bankruptcy laws for individuals (written by a bank that I will never do business with again, MBNA). Now, they want to loan money to the banks?


If they do loan the money to the banks, I hope that it will at least include forcing the banks to do a moratorium on foreclosures, and forcing them to re-write the existing loans to a lower interest rate, and an up to 6 month grace period before the first payments are due.

Whatever they do, who cares if some stocks have to be sold by some people and institutions in order to make payments? There's also something more afoot going on here, too, than just with the banks and the real estate bust. Robert Kiyosaki had a book about "Rich Dad's Prediction" a few years back, which spoke about how the biggest stock market crash in history was coming. It's unavoidable- and has a lot to do with the baby boomers retiring, drawing a pension, and taking their money out of the stock market. Hey, we're in for some interesting times.