Real Fast Info

Well I wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Very Merry Christmas and say a little bit in my column. First of all for many of us 2008 was a rough year. I lost my mom earlier this year when she passed away, but in reality the way things are going in this world she is in a better place anyway. Many things were seen in 2008. We elected the first African-American  President in Barack Obama who is looking to make change. With the sad state of our nation right now we can sure use that.

Many people this past year have lost their homes, cars, and jobs so here is hoping that 2009 is much better than 2008 and I also am hoping everyone gets want they want out of 2009. Make it the best year you ever have had. I know I am going to.

It seems that Warner Bros has asked YouTube to take down most of their videos as both sides could not come to terms on an agreement. It seems that Warner bros wanted a bigger share and YouTube just did not want to give them that. YouTube does have agreements with many other companies and has been working to make this website more profitable and keep all parties happy, but sometimes it is very hard.

The companies, artists what more of a share and I guess YouTube felt it was out of line and was not going to pay it. The real loser though is the consumer who does not to get to watch some of their favorite artists and that is a shame, but that is how it works when you talk about money. For me I think people are just being to greedy anymore and that is a real shame, but do not look for that to change anytime soon either.

Barack Obama has been named the Time’s Person Of The Year which should really not be a shock to anyone. He has captured the imagination of many people during his long campaign and may forever change how politics and especially how the White House is won. Obama used a grass roots effort that made sure that the people counted and that was part of his success.

Being the first African-American President Of The United States also had something to do with it as well. It is a turning point hopefully in American Politics where anyone can be elected as long as your willing to put forth the effort. Obama did just that and now Time has made him it’s Person Of The Year.

President Bush made a surprise last appearance to Iraq to tell the troops what a wonderful job they are doing for the Country and in the process he even got some shoe leather thrown at him. No i was not one of his troops that did it. At a news conference a Iraqi journalist was no happy with what Bush has stood for or the war in Iraq and promptly took off his shoes and threw them at President Bush. Mr Bush took it in stride and said it looks like a size 10 to me making humor of the situation. I will admit through all the turmoil of his presidency he has always kept a smile even in dark times.

The Auto Bailout is still waiting in Congress and it looks like it could be there awhile as Republicans would not sign off it unless autoworkers took a pay cut. Now I am on the autoworkers side on this. Why should they take a cut when it was the companies mismanagement that has put them in this situation nothing the workers did. Congress needs to get this deal done as it will be a devastating loss to loss one of the Big three automakers, but maybe that is what Congress wants.

People are losing their jobs everyday and that is a shame that Congress does not care about it. Everyday people are losing their hoes, jobs, and cars and all Congress wants to do is add things to the bill instead of getting it through. Obama has his hands full dealing with this group in Congress that is for sure while the American people wait to see how many more jobs they will lose.

It seems Joe Wurzelbacher alias Joe The plumber was on Glenn Beck telling him he was appalled at things he seen on the McCain campaign trail. He also said he had several discussions with John McCain about the 700 Billion dollar bailout and he was not happy with the answers. When asked why he did not leave he gave the answer Obama scared him more than McCain. It was not all bad news though for the Republican Party though as he gave glowing comments about Sarah Palin which had to make some in the republican party smile a little bit.

Joe Wurzelbacher has a right to say what he wants as it is America, but it is a little wait now to come out and not give your real opinion of what you thought of John McCain. I noticed that Joe was at many of the campaign stops so he must of enjoyed some of the time he spent on the campaign trail it seems.

Barack Obama said Sunday that the economy will probably get worse before it gets better. I totally agree with that assumption and the real question is what will he be able to do about it. Americans are really struggling right now and if it gets worse I do not know what some people will be able to do. It is getting hard just to feed yourselves and paying your bills is getting real tough.

Unless some real relief comes quickly many people will be living in the streets and that is a shame that one of the most powerful countries in the world has been reduced to this. This is going to be a long recovery process that the President has to deal with and it will be tough on him. No matter what he does someone will not be happy. I guess soon we will see what Obama can do and hopefully it will work as many Americans need it very quickly.

It seems that Congress this weekend are on the fast track to get automakers a bailout package through. It may not be the amount of money that they wanted, but it will still be some welcome relief that they need. Many people think without the money one of the Big Three could go under and I agree with that assessment. The automakers are struggling and unless they get some help it could be a big disaster.

The other bad thing is if one of the Big Three fail it will affect so many people. I look for many car brands to disappear as the Big Three try to cut expenses which is a shame. Over the years car companies have trimmed cars from their lineups, but this could be the biggest shuffle that we have seen in a very long time. I guess only time will how many we lose.

The recession has really take a toll on some of my favorite places to shop. Rite Aid is rumored to be in trouble and it would not surprise me to see them file for bankruptcy. Circuit City has already done that where I am and we also lost Steve and Barry’s as well. Steve and Barry’s was kind of shocking as they sold sportswear at 7.99-15.99 of almost every college team. You would think it would do well, but it also did not make it.

The bad part about losing these types of businesses is everyone is affected from employees to people who shopped at these establishments. As businesses fail people need to find other places where they can get the same kind of product that they use to use. It is a lot tougher than it seems. You also lose the small town feel some of these stores give to a community. I guess in the end we will lose more, but I sure hope not.

It looks like the Middle Class could get some tax relief as Barack Obama wants to get the tax cuts going as soon as possible. With over 250,000 jobs lost in November look for Congress and Obama to move swiftly on getting these tax cuts into play. The economy is very bad and it needs a shot in the arm real quick. If it does not this spiral could continue for awhile.

Many people do not think we have hit the bottom of this recession and I think they could be right. It seems we get more bad news on top of more bad news all the time. Hopefully before the end of the year we will get some good news, but I highly doubt it.