Fucking ridiculous

The DOW continues to freefall at terminal velocity. Now we're below 9,000. Yeah, so much for that ridiculous bailout package! What did it buy? NOTHING. Oh, wait, AIG fat execs got to go play at a posh spa resort. Those fuckers should be sued, or better yet, tarred and fucking feathered. Seriously.   Who's paying? NOT the government. NOT the companies. Those assholes still get their golden parachutes.   YOU AND ME.   YOU AND ME.   My mom thinks she's retiring this December. She's out of her mind. I haven't looked at my Scottrade account. I don't think I want to. I didn't invest all of my money directly into stocks that I'd rolled out of my company SRP once I went contractor, but the majority was invested. I'm sure I've lost at least 25%.   And yet McDeregulationCain said as little as two weeks ago that the "fundamentals" of our economy were strong. WHAT A FUCKING LIAR. He is part of the problem! He was there back in Reagan's day, when this whole deregulation shit first started that was the groundwork for this whole mess. Hello, Keating 5 scandal. Hello S&L scandal.   We're in a fucking recession. There is no "risk" of one anymore. Let's face the goddamn facts. We are IN a RECESSION.   I'm not looking forward to this, but after having just cut the cable service back a tier, I may just tell my mom we need to cancel it. Because I'm not paying for it. (And I know she won't want to. She's already said she'll just have to cut back on stuff when I asked her what she planned on doing WHEN - not IF - WHEN I move out.) I watch DVDs more anyway. I'll miss the Food Channel and Discovery and TLC, but three channels are not worth crying over. I'll still have PBS. I just printed out those coupons for the digital converter boxes.   I put my Netflix account on hold. Now I'll just cancel it.   About the only non-negotiable thing for me is internet service. I have been pressing to ditch the landline - I NEVER use it, why should I pay for it? She's got a cell phone, too. WHY pay for a landline that the only people call are telemarketers? I just need to call ATT and confirm I can just have internet service only. I know they'll jack up the price since I want to ditch the landline. Fuckers.   And while I would love to go see the inauguration for Obama, I'm really doubting I'll have the money to get out there.   If I'm *lucky* I will have money saved for a roadtrip next summer.   Christmas is gonna be fun - well it usually is *snark*. My mom has a habit of getting me stupid presents. I am one of those people who will TELL YOU what I want. Don't ask me what I want, have me tell you, and then go out and get me something stupid I will never use. Gifts from friends are one thing, but I know how hard up my mom can get for money. I try to keep her from spending too much on stupid shit. She can just forgo the Christmas crap. Maybe some yarn. Maybe a book. That's it. I'm telling you, if she gets me anything else, it's going back.   I'm lucky I have nearly $600 saved in my xmas account. That's probably far more than many people have in either their checking or savings. Shit.   I've got to stop eating out during the workweek, too. Weekends with friends is one thing. If I stop going to Panera all the damn time during the week then I can do the weekend crap. Adios, Starbucks.   Gotta go to the comic shop, too. Enough of the kid crap. I'm keeping Fables on my monthly pull. Everything else is stopping. If I want it, I'll get the trade.