There are certainly worse influences in poor communities than payday lenders, but those influences tend be involve acts of God and/or organized street gangs. Barring that, there's little you could plan better than effectively removing banks and making the only instruments of financial planning one of the half-dozen check cashing and payday lending places within a two mile radius.
Hey dad, long time no see. What smells like desperation and moose?
I have never been one to mince words, so I'll get right to the point.
If you are at all concerned about the prospect of the Democrats gaining total control of the federal government, then your help is needed right now.
To stay competitive and ultimately win this election we must raise $10 million by September 15th. That is an enormous challenge. And we cannot do it alone - we must have your help to meet that goal.
Now seems like the right time to share with you a few facts about my father, the recipient of this missive. 
Auguste Sr.:
That's right, you heard me, his FedEx account number:
That is why I hope you will use the enclosed pre-paid, pre-addressed Federal Express Envelope and rush an Emergency Contribution of $5,000, $1,000, $500, $250 or $100 to the McCain Leadership Committee as soon as you possibly can.
Let me tell you why your support is so urgent.
The Democrats are unprecedented in the amount of money they have already raised and spent, in the number of TV ads they are running, and in the amount of unquestioning media coverage they are receiving.
O RLY, John? Unquestioning media coverage, you say?
Unquestioning media coverage, you say?
Unquestion- Ah never mind, I'm depressed.
And that doesn't even scratch the surface of the amount of liberal special interest spending that is being done on their behalf by organizations like MoveOn.org and the Big Labor Union AFSCME.
<
Needless capital letters: "the new scare quotes."
While there is no doubt that our Party is in for the toughest political battle we have ever faced, I know we can win. We defied greater odds before, and we are in a strong position now.
Our challenge is clear. We must make this campaign about the issues. We must get the voters to break through the smokescreen of the Obama Democrats empty rhetoric and focus on the reality of their tax-and-spend domestic plans and irresponsible foreign policy.
The difference between me and our Republican candidates, and the Obama Democrats is unmistakable. If we lose the presidency, we could be facing one of the most radical and extreme shifts in the direction of our nation in American history. And if Democrats also retain control of Congress, they would control the entire federal government and would be unstoppable.
Double-super emphasis in the original, but you better believe I'd have added it if not. Because oh. my. eleventy-one.
I mean, okay, it'll probably hit McCain's base where it lives. It may work; I'll be interested to hear whether the McCain Leadership Committee rakes in the cash. And where, I wonder, is the money going, since McCain can't actually use any of it without breaking the law, which we all know is just impossible for him to even consider? Well, "the first $28,500 will go to the RNC, the next portion will be divided evenly between the Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania state parties' federal accounts up to a maximum of $9,250 for each Committee, and the final $2,300 will go to the Compliance Fund." Something tells me McCain would be better served donating the first $2,300 to the Compliance Fund, but no, there's probably nothing illegal about this.
But given that the Compliance Fund's stated intention is to make sure that the "campaign doesn't have to pay legal and accounting costs from the general campaign account. This means more money for 'get-out-the-vote' mailers, yard signs, bumper stickers, and advertising in battleground states" it might help if the McCain better vetted their list of where to send their $20 pre-paid FedEx mailers.
Blah blah blah blah blah Sincerely,
John McCain
P.S. Mr. Auguste Sr., I need you to stand with me. The next 10 days are extremely critical. Whatever you can afford to send - please send it today. The only way we can defeat the Democrats [sic] bid for the White House and complete control of our government, and effectively challenge the most massive fundraising machine in campaign history is with your immediate help. Please rush your Emergency Campaign Contribution for $5,000, $1,000, $500 $250 or $100 to the McCain Leadership Committee by placing it in the enclosed pre-paid, pre-addressed Federal Express Overnight Envelope and calling 1-800-238-5355 for a free pick-up today. Thank you!
Don't mind if I do!
(For explanation of the 9 cents figure, click here. Also, I am aware that Amy Goodman is, at the time of this writing, free.)
Lately, I've been reading some more Chuck Klosterman, Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas, specifically. Klosterman is an endlessly fascinating read, because he's someone who thinks a lot and is an engaging writer, but has great lapses of intellectual laziness and is neurotic, utterly afraid of commitment on any level. (To the degree that he has bragged about not owning a bed.) At times he's provocative in a good way, but in this book he's all too often provocative because he's willing to make bold proclamations but unwilling to dig deep into his own ideas and find the flaws in them.
Ahhhhhh...another endorsement from the man who "confronts the powers of darkness in the homosexual stronghold of Hillcrest in San Diego, California." He had a conniption when I reported on the surprise appearance during the Democratic National Convention at a luncheon for LGBT delegates. First, he declares that Michelle Obama is a radical homosexualist:
Less then 24 hours after she gleefully paraded her two small daughters onto the DNC stage to convince America of her conservative family credentials, Michelle Obama cast aside the garb of suburban mom and reverted back to the radicalized diva that leftist Democrats have come to idolize. Mrs. Obama rapidly departed from the role of wife and mother which she displayed the night before during her primetime DNC speech to tell a gathering of nearly 300 homosexual delegates to the Democratic National Convention, “We know what the world should look like.”
The gay-friendly Mrs. Obama told the enthralled gathering of Democrat homosexual activists that they must work to repeal the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. She also emphasized the need to legalize homosexuality and lesbianism in the United States military.
...Her push to repeal, both the Defense of Marriage Act and the ban on homosexuality and lesbianism in the military, indicates that Michelle Obama is suffering from some type of political schizophrenia.
In my post on his reaction to Michelle Obama's speech, I noted his outlandish tagline on his blog "This has been a 2008 Election Update from The James Hartline Report: Now Read Daily By Over 21,000 Concerned Citizens of Conviction!" It implies the man has a huge readership, I suppose that could be true if you define "read" as his report lands in someone's inbox and they then hit "delete." I guess my blog's on James's RSS feed reader, and the post got under his skin.
On a number of occasions -- those who do not deal with the reality of the real world outside of the self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto make extremely faulty conclusions about the number of citizens who are involved with the James Hartline Report....The James Hartline Report is emailed to the largest email list in San Diego County, San Diego, California. The James Hartline Report is sent via email -- and the James Hartline Report has over 40,000 readers in its various databases. The email recepients are the powerbase of the James Hartline Report and are the reason that so much success has come to the various activities of James Hartline and the Christian Community of San Diego, California.
Articles from the James Hartline Report email service are occasionally published on the James Hartline Report Blog.
In conclusion, many homosexual and lesbian activists truly demonstrate that they cannot think outside of their small boxes. They assume that the referred number of readers to the James Hartline is a reference to blog traffic. We do not depend on blog readership for our successes or readership reliability. That is a faulty assumption on the part of the limited perspective of homosexual and lesbian activist minds. For example, note this little treasure from the twisted blog of the twisted lesbian sister Pam's House Blend:
"I'm wondering about the "Now Read Daily By Over 21,000 Concerned Citizens of Conviction!" bit. Is that accurate? And how many are Concerned Citizens of Conviction are agreeing with him, or against him. I have a feeling that if you removed the number of people that only go there as a link from blogs against him, or go there to pull articles and quotes to show how insane he is, then the number of people left who actually buy his drivel is rather small."
And this!
The critical comments of homosexual activists don't even remotely get under my skin. After successfully fighting a long term battle with AIDS, overcoming 30 years of homosexuality to become free from that sin, leaving behind a deadly drug addiction ten years ago and gaining liberty a decade ago from nineteen years of imprisonment, the comments of a few embittered lesbians is hardly a gnat on my radar of life's difficulties.
After a convention wholeheartedly dedicated (by which I mean they gave out signs which none of the dozens in attendance read) to the idea of service to something greater than one's self, the end result is a clear message to America's struggling communities: organizing to improve your lot in life is for elitist liberal whores.
