While the unemployment rate is the highest it’s been since 1983 with 9.4% Americans without employment, a glimmer of hope for recovery has shown itself given the slowing rate of job elimination.

As a comparison, the unemployment rate during the Great Depression climbed to 30%.  So while financial analysts agree that America still has a long way to go toward recovery, hey – it could be worse.

While it’s rare that one finds the answers to life’s more difficult questions at the bottom of a bottle, the above T-shirt did make us wonder. And so…

I always wondered why he didn’t have Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims… of course, other than a geographic divide there’s also the fact that Columbus set out 130 years before the Pilgrims.  But these details can go over the head of a first grader.

Columbus was trying to reach India by sailing East from Spain and though he’d landed in the East Indies, which is why the indigenous population came to be knows as “Indians” in the Western world.

If you’re in Latin America you’re celebrating Dia de la Raza today, which marks the first encounter between Europeans (the Italian Columbus and his crew) and celebrates the origins of the mestizo race.  Unless you live in Brazil (which has no celebration today) or Venezuela, which celebrates Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) today.

Though the stock market is open today, if you work for a bank you’re celebrating a day off.  And given the calamitous state of our economy lately, it’s likely that all the bankers out there looked forward to this year’s day off much more than in past years.

So Happy Columbus Day/Dia de la Raza/Dia de la Resistencia Indigena/Dia de Descanso de Bancos.

Critics of McCain were quick to claim that the Senator is using the economic crisis as an excuse to avoid being on-camera with Obama.  Whether McCain feels ill-prepared to debate Obama, is trying to prevent a Kennedy/Nixon repeat or simply wants to focus his full attention on the American economy is up for… well, debate.

But for those of you who were waiting impatiently for the Presidential debates, you’re in luck: we have our own version of The Great Debate for you.  It’s only 2 minutes long, but hey – it’s better than no debates at all, right?

The Great Debate from CafePress on Vimeo.

So for everyone out there who wants to have their own debate over the issues, just remember: an image is worth 1000 words.  (Liberals here may insert a “Just ask John McCain.”)

Big thanks to the Ditty Bops for use of their song – check out their site for more throwback music that will summon memories of an era when the thought of a televised Presidential debate was mere fantasy.

(Will history repeat itself?)

Very official song credit:

“Skinny Bones”
Performed by The Ditty Bops
Written by Abby DeWald & Amanda Barrett
Published by Ditty Bops Music, (ASCAP)
Courtesy of The Green Witch Society

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buzzcowboy note:

In the time since this post has been up, the Right Wing has added their voice to the Debate debate.  Most designs are however still pro-Obama on the issue, so if you have a strong pro-McCain or anti-Obama position on the Presidential Debates Debate do remember that your image is a great way to get your voice out there.  Here’s some newer designs:

While political pundits managed to avoid head-on discussion of the financial crisis for the past 6 months by arguing back and forth on semantics as to whether or not this kind of action (i.e. the Bear Stearns rescue) is a “bailout,” those days are over.  It’s bailout time.

In a nutshell: The Paulson plan proposes to use American taxpayer money to buy distressed mortages in order to prevent a banking collapse.

So: *will Main Street bail out Wall Street?  And, if so: will we all get personalized thank-you notes from Freddie and Fanny?