Does anyone else think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sound more like cartoon characters than mortgage finance companies? Kind of like Homer Simpson or Wile E. Coyote but not so funny…

If you missed SNL’s sendup of Katie Couric’s recent interview with Governor Sarah Palin, here’s your chance to watch Tina Fey at her best. Forget serious politics for the next 7 minutes…This is funny!

Yeah, I know, I’ve beaten this drum for quite a few posts now, but it’s important to understand. For those less inclined to slug through my more lengthy attempts at explaining where we are and how we got here, watch this Special Report with Bret Hume which offers a more “capsulized” version:

And for those of you that really want to understand what happened, why, and how our elected (and a few appointed) officials are dealing with it, listen to this audio presentation by Mark Levin at his best. It’s long — about an hour — but you’ll get “extra credit” in Economics 101 for investing the time.

I’m a little late posting it, but here’s another political video mashup from Hugh Atkin…

As Hugh points out, it’s a bit of a “return to the well” after this one…

Several readers sent this asking that I post it. Watch it to the end.

It’s been seven years. Perhaps the emotions you experienced that day - terror, disbelief, anger - have faded. Perhaps you think that day is a horrible part of our history to be filed away. It’s not. The enemy is reforming and will strike again. The war against evil is now and forever a part of our lives. We must be vigilant. We must use all means to defeat the enemy or he will surely defeat us. That is the nature of war. And make no mistake - we are at war.

We must remember the act of war that brought us here. Take a few moments to watch this video. Do you remember that day? Were you angry? Are you still angry?

We are Americans. We honor our dead and we give aid and comfort to those who have suffered. But then we return to the battlefield to engage and defeat the aggressor. He is still there, plotting, planning to attack again. The war is not over…

Remember those who perished that day. Say a prayer for those who carry on without them. Never forget.

This video from Michael D is a representation of a letter purportedly published July 7, 2008 in the Richmond Times Dispatch.

Having grown up in Miami, I appreciate the feelings of Cubans who fled their homeland for America following Fidel Castro’s military coup and I understand how they might see alarming parallels between the changes promised by Castro and Barack Obama. I don’t know whether the letter was or wasn’t published or how accurately the video portrays its sentiment, but as Michael points out, it’s something to at least think about.

In his well crafted acceptance speech last night, John McCain described his perceived mission: to shake up the Washington status quo and redirect its gridlocked “me first” divisiveness toward the “Country first” purpose to which he believes we need to return. In the process, he accepted his and his party’s share of blame, acknowledging “we were given the chance to change Washington but instead let Washington change us.”

I found that admission profound because we all should realize by now that we can’t set about correcting our failures without first accepting our share of responsibility for causing them. Too often candidates simply point at their predecessors, blame them for all our problems, and pledge to lead us to the promised land. You and I know that it isn’t the incumbent President or his administration that put us behind the proverbial eight ball; it’s Congress. So it’s refreshing to see a candidate admit that, as a member of Congress, he’s been part of the problem.

In case you missed the speech last night, I’ve included MSNBC’s video of it for your consideration along with a link to the complete transcript. I especially appreciated the last ten minutes. It’s worth a watch regardless of your ideological or political preferences.

You know, there are certainly issues on which I vehemently disagree with McCain. But I think his record of taking on both parties for the benefit of his country and fellow Americans makes him an overall better choice for President. And I think Sarah Palin, another maverick, is a breath of fresh air sorely needed in Washington. The alternative? Two more Congressional lawyers who, like those before them, promise to sweep away all the problems caused by the previous administration. It’s been done before with little success. It’s time for a decidedly different approach.

If you missed Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s speech last night at the RNC, you missed a rare treat. After Rudy Giuliani fired up the delegates, Palin delivered an introduction to who she is, what she’s made of and gave notice to her Democratic opponents that it’s “game on.”

I’ll admit that I was more than a little curious how she would come across. After all, Sen. Barack Obama is a gifted speaker and has mesmerized the media for months with his artful rhetoric, and I hoped Palin’s speech would compare favorably. But Palin set my mind, and that of much of America, at ease with a fiery speech that spanned more than 35 minutes and had the crowd on their feet for much of it.

If you’re a veteran, you had to shed a tear during the last five minutes. If you have, or know someone with a special needs child, you shed a tear when she talked about her four month old baby boy, Trig, born with Down Syndrome. And if you were hoping to learn where she comes from, what she believes and what she wants to bring to the White House with John McCain, you had to feel satisfied when she left the podium. Her one-liners alone were worth the price of admission!

So far, I’m impressed. I realize Americans have become callous and distrustful of anyone associated with politics and for good reason. But if ever there was someone like you and me — an everyday hockey mom who goes to work every day, a Washington outsider who’s administered and balanced a state budget, fought corruption and bucked the system — it’s Sarah Palin. If you watched her speech, you know what I mean. She’s what we all wish we had in government but didn’t believe exists.

I’ve linked to the Wall Street Journal’s transcript and provided MSNBC’s video of her speech for those of you that missed it or want to watch it again.

I’d say the Republican base — along with Hillary supporters, women and a lot of Independents — are energized and looking forward to her debate with Joe Biden! Impressed? I am.

Here’s something to ask ourselves: Are we being held hostage by foreign oil as we’re been told? Or is Congress the real culprit?

I remember when the Republican led Congress passed a bill to drill, only to have it vetoed by Bill Clinton. Well, here we still are. So in this video clip, Newt Gingrich suggests three things we should do now to dramatically lower the cost of oil.

Is anybody listening?

“Oceans” from the “Fresh Wine for the Horses” album by former Catherine Wheel lead singer Rob Dickinson. I can’t explain what’s happening in the video or how it relates to the song except it apparently involves a mermaid who doesn’t know she’s a mermaid, and a guy in a wetsuit stalking her in Palm Springs…

I like the song. And I found it interesting that the entire video was shot on a Nokia N93 camera phone! Curious how it was done?

As Arthur C. Clarke told us, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” So think of Irish magician Keith Barry as a technologist, an elite software engineer of the human brain. Witty and direct, he celebrates human cleverness even while he’s hacking it.

In this 2004 TED presentation in Monterey, California, Barry shows us how our brains can fool our bodies. Then he involves the audience in some jaw-dropping (and even a bit dangerous) feats of brain magic.

At just under 20 minutes, you may think it a bit long. But I believe, once you get into it, you’ll be hooked. Enjoy!

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It began in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). The TED website makes the best of these available to the public. Free.

On September 18, 2007, computer science professor and alumnus Randy Pausch spoke before a packed McConomy Auditorium at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver his last lecture, a moving talk called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” Within that context, he talked about the cancer that was devouring his pancreas and that would claim his life in a matter of months.

On the stage that day, he was youthful, energetic, cheerful and darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But that was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged. With equal parts humor and heart, he delivered a one-of-a-kind last lecture that moved the overflow crowd at the university and went on to move audiences around the globe.

Randy’s lecture has become a phenomenon, as has his best selling book, The Last Lecture based on the same principles; celebrating the dreams we all strive to make realities. Sadly, he lost his battle to pancreatic cancer a week ago today, but his legacy will continue to inspire us all for generations to come.

I urge you to take the time - make the time (1 hour 16 minutes) - to watch Randy’s last lecture this weekend. If you’ve already seen it, watch it again. I guarantee you’ll be inspired. More

“Almost all of us have childhood dreams; for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them.” - Randy Pausch, Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008

Regular contributer Hugh Atkin from Down Under makes videos, some of which are comedic spoofs featuring the U.S. presidential candidates, and posts them on YouTube. Says Hugh in an email the other day:

“I’d taken a bit of a break from election videos, but if you’re interested, I’ve just posted a mock interview with Barack Obama based on the word association game he played on Fox News. I hope you like it.

Best regards,

Hugh Atkin”

In this spoof, Obama struggles with the concept of word association. I found it pretty funny. See what you think.

Here are a couple more of Hugh’s videos I particularly enjoyed: “What Voters Want Is…” and “Clinton and Cruise - On the Campaign Trail”

All right, for those of you that asked to see Episode 2 when it was released (and those that didn’t ask but secretly wanted to), here ya’ go…

Watch Episode 1.