EEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

That's the sound of me hitting the brakes with both feet (metaphorically). Not sure why I didn't put this together earlier, but it makes more sense to me why a majority of our manufacturing has been outsourced to China. The obvious (and annoying) reason is that it's cheaper to manufacture stuff there with lacking environmental standards and inhumane labor practices and the rest.

The more long-term reason is that China is the next big consumer base. And which U.S. companies will have the easiest time selling an iPod, a Tonka toy, or dog food into a potentially humungous, burgeoning middle class? Companies that already manufacture there. Essentially, America is poised to become a large corporate office where other countries do our manufacturing and consuming. This is good news for the folks who want to build an immigration wall - the jobs many immigrants want won't be here for long!

More politics (might as well keep the train a-rollin'):

Now all I hear from Hillary is that we need solutions - not words. Yet, she's using words to let us know that we need solutions! It's a catch-22. Speaking of solutions, how about health care? I can forgive her for not reforming the nation's entrenched (and somewhat ineffective) system as it's a pretty strong lobby keeping it as is, and after all, what power does the first lady have, anyhow? (A good question for Bill, since he's campaigning to become that -- or is he trying to get four more years on the back of his wife?!)

What I have a hard time with is forgiving the same woman who sat on the board of Walmart. Did she do anything to try to reform the health care of her own employees in that time? I'm not being sarcastic now, I really want to know. Is this what started her initiative to fix health care all those years ago or did she let thousands of employees take a low paycheck and risk not being covered by working at her company?

Don't even get me started on McCain. He blew through Sugar Grove on the Straight Talk Express and didn't even stop by for a cup of coffee. Selfish prick.