Ever wonder why we promote the weirdest, zaniest candidates for President? The answer!

As we end 2011 and begin 2012, an election year for our President, have you ever wondered how this country ever elected someone like President George W. Bush or looked to Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, Rick Perry or Newt Gingrich to be President. Have you ever wondered what's wrong with voters that they could be that stupid, or "tupid" as one of my best friends jokingly says? Well I found the answer to those questions right here. Play this video and you'll never wonder again why we pick who we pick for President and answer a whole bunch of questions about who we are as a people. Besides you will laugh too!


Now you know! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours and let's all pray for a smarter electorate as well. For those who don't know what the word "electorate" means, you might consider staying home this Presidential election. Only kidding! :)

President Obama does what President Bush couldn't do, find and kill Osama Bin Laden!

What a terrific day it is with Osama Bin Laden getting his due justice for our 9/11 attack of the World Trade Towers. I must make a political statement about this today. So here it is:

From Sept. 11th 2001 until the election of President Obama, 8 years went by. The news reports that it was 5 years ago that the compound was built in Pakistan, which was where Bin Laden was hiding. Then President Obama was elected with the worse financial fiasco since the Great Depression and not only has President Obama saved us from a Depression, but under his leadership and direction, our forces were able to kill Bin Laden too. God Bless President Obama, the soldiers who went on the mission to kill Bin Laden, but also all the men and women serving our military and their families. I also want to song the praises of Leon Panetta, as head of the CIA for the fine work and of all our intelligent services

Fiscal responsibility: Where did we go wrong, President Obama or President Bush?

As I was thinking about what to post today, I went back over the years in posts and found one back on January 13, 2007, which I thought might be appropriate to post again today. I wrote this post much before the Sub Prime problem was even a word in our vocabulary. It was about President Bush and the legacy he was going to leave our country. I know many are disappointed with President Obama right now. They see that we still have massive problems which still remain unresolved and new problems which have finally gotten the attention of the American people this past year. But in reflection, I thought this reminder of where we were, back in January 2007, might be a useful comparison to today. Remember, President Barack Obama had not even declared his run for the Presidency until a full month after this original post on Feb. 13, 2007. So here is a reposting of that post and very timely as we have less than 30 days before we vote.

The title is:
Bush's experience taught him only one thing- How to be a failure and disappointment!

The only thing this President seems to have learned from his past is how to create bankruptcy conditions.

1) He bankrupt his Oil company. From the lessons learned he started in his Presidency to create the same for the Nation by the following:

2) His is bankrupting our Country with debt
3) He has bankrupt our Military - both equipment wise and manpower strength
4) He has bankrupt our Freedoms with such actions as eavesdropping on phone conversations of any American without FISA Court approval, signing statements which defy laws he has signed into law and other Unconstitutional acts.
5) He has bankrupt our Trust in oversight with a Republican led Congress that turned their head away at his choices, while they held their noses from the stench.
6) He has bankrupt our Trust in a fair Judicial system, by appointing Justices that will approve of his antics and rewrite history as far as settled law.
7) He has bankrupt the Vision for millions of people around the world who thought of the USA as a place of Hope and replaced that Vision as a country of arrogance and spite for our friends as well as our enemies.
8) He has bankrupt the use of Diplomacy, as no country believes him nor trusts him anymore. We are mostly alone in the world now. Colin Powell's speech will go down in history as how the US distorted truth for the self interest of a few of its leaders; the President and the Vice President.
9) He has bankrupt our willingness to be eager for the words of our President, when he gives a speech or an address, to the Nation. We are weary of his lies and twisted truth to us.
10) He has bankrupt and shattered the idea of our President being a Statesman because of his intellect and pursuit of noble causes to help the poor of the world and in stopping wars and promoting peace in the world.

Need I go on! Shame, shame, shame Mr. President. We need a “Tough Love” intervention called IMPEACHMENT.

I am told that Donald Trump has disclosed he is considering running for President against President Obama in 2012. I told a close friend of mine this morning, we don't need another President who has experience with Personal Bankruptcy again. We need someone like Mayor Bloomberg of NY who has done quite well for himself and has great business acumen in helping to solve our country's problems. Now there is someone I could really get behind and vote for. He proved his metal to me in this mosque controversy near Ground Zero. He is one class act. Mr. Mayor, are you listening?

Change We Can Believe In?

I was watching a news clip yesterday and saw pictures of President Obama at an Asian Conference abroad. It had the heads of state of the Nations attending all dressed in local garb and then taking the obligatory photo. Included in the group was our President who was in local dress also and it reminded me of the phrase, "Change We Can Believe In". In that moment I asked myself was President Obama the change I was looking for. The answer is unequivocally, YES!

For the past 10 to 15 years, I have been embarrassed by our Presidents. Yes, first it was with Bill Clinton and his sexual escapades with the culmination of the Monica Lewinsky affair and subsequently his impeachment. Then it was 8 long years of President Bush. He was a terrible President, embarrassing not just me, but an entire nation. When he just sat there during the 9/11 attacks, reading with children in a classroom, staying seated even after being told we were being attacked. As President he not only did what he could to subvert the Constitution with his sidekick, VP Dick Cheney, and lied about WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in Iraq, fudging stories, about yellow cake uranium in Niger, to scare us about yellow mushroom clouds in our future if we didn't authorize the attack on Iraq. But even a small matter embarrassed me, President Bush couldn't even pronounce the word "Nuclear". But yesterday, as I watched our President mingling with World leaders, I finally said to myself, YES, President Obama is the Change We Can Believe In. But because I have been so disappointed for so many years, I must add the words, So Far! I just hope we are not disappointed, as we have many times before. We are in year one of his Presidency, but so far so good.

You see, there are some things to be grateful for, this Thanksgiving. You may or may not like President Obama's politic, but I think you can agree that so far he has not embarrassed us as President. Thank you Mr. President, thank you so very much! Finally a President who is what he had promised us in many ways.

Dick Armey's FreedomWorks wants freedom. Where were they during the Bush years?

I watched Dick Armey on Meet the Press yesterday and his defense of his aims to get government out of healthcare. His belief is that we shouldn't even have Medicare as he is against it, as well. He believes in "Freedom" from government intervention of any kind. So where was he when President Bush was spying on Americans using wiretaps? Where was he when President Bush was wanting to go into Iraq? Where was he when President Bush was spending like crazy and raising the debt of this country to historic proportions under a Republican Congress? I'll tell you he and his group were no where to be found nor heard from during the debate.

The next big crisis: Retirement Funds

So do you think that if we can just get this banking crisis behind us all will be well again? Think again! Oh I know you are thinking about the rising Unemployment rate and the number of foreclosures which are tied into the banking problems also as important, and I agree. But what has not been discussed much of late is what has happened to the Pension Funds for retirees and the Agency which Insures them, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.. Here straight from their website is a description of who they are.

"PBGC is a federal corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. It currently protects the pensions of nearly 44 million American workers and retirees in more than 29,000 private single-employer and multi-employer defined benefit pension plans. PBGC receives no funds from general tax revenues. Operations are financed by insurance premiums set by Congress and paid by sponsors of defined benefit plans, investment income, assets from pension plans trusteed by PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the plans."

What I have seen in the news these past few months should raise the alarm bells. Here's a sampling:

April 9, 2009 The Exxon Mobil pension fund has filed a lawsuit against its custodian Northern Trust for breaching its fiduciary responsibilities. The corporate fund is claiming that the funds garnered from the lending out of shares has been invested in risky assets by Northern Trust. These assets are alleged to have included highly-leveraged assets, mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations. It is alleged that these investments effectively generated losses for the Exxon Mobil pension fund.

April 16, 2009 A special pension fund for railroad workers that was given permission during the Bush administration to invest its assets in the stock market lost more than a third of its value during a recent 18-month period, a loss that could influence an ongoing debate about how to keep government-affiliated retirement programs solvent.

March 1, 2009 Questions arise from GM's use of pension for buyouts, VEBA trust. Details are emerging about how General Motors Corp.'s U.S. pension funds went from a $20-billion surplus at the end of 2007 to a $12.4-billion deficit 12 months later. Newly released numbers show that the funds, which help support more than 650,000 Americans, were tapped for billions of dollars over the past year for employee buyout programs, benefit increases and as part of the UAW's retiree health care trust deal.

February 2009 The Next Catastrophe: Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were a politicized financial disaster? Just wait until pension funds implode. Funds worth trillions of dollars start to plummet in value. Political pressure to be “socially responsible” distorts the market decisions of government-related enterprises, leading to risky investments. Investors who once considered their retirements safely protected wake up to a sinking feeling of uncertainty and gloom. Sound like the great mortgage-fueled financial crisis of 2008? Sure. But it also describes a calamity likely to hit as soon as 2009. State, local, and private pension plans covering millions of government employees and union workers with “defined benefit” accounts are teetering on the brink of implosion, victims of both a sinking stock market and investment strategies influenced by political considerations.

There are serious faults cracking the very foundation and well being of our elder population, as it approaches retirement. The near term focus has been on the immediate Financial system recovery, which is where it should be focused, but behind that curtain is a very large problem with cataclysmic repercussions for all our soon to be retired Baby Boomers. The current Financial crisis has many related and interconnected parts and this one will play a prominent role as a new President thinks of dealing with Social Security policy changes, or should I say Social Insecurity changes as a part of reform.

Under President Bush he attempted to get Americans to take a part of their Social Security retirement Funds and to consider investing them in the stock market. If that had been done by many Americans the current situation would have been worse than it is. The problem is that the Social Security Funds were not in the Lock Box as Gore had promised should he have been elected, but were used by the Government to pay for other things, and now in the Lock Box is a big IOU with no real hope of doing anything to solve it except print more paper money. Eventually citizens are going to wake up that paper isn't really worth anything and they want real assets in exchange for goods and services. God help everyone when that happens! It is called bartering. Get used to it.

My 1000th Blog posting!

Well it has been a while since I started blogging. It was back on May 11th, 2005 when I posted my first Blog. Now, 1,000 posts later, I pause to reflect why I started doing this. It was only 4 months after President Bush began his 2nd term, when I was fed up of all the bickering in the Congress and in the Country. My first post reflected this and I will repost it again, below. But first, I wish to thank all of my readers for inspiring me to continue in this endeavor and to let you know, you have helped me make this a better blog. I started exclusively focusing on politics, but now I have added a focus on the economy and particularly the stock market.

It has always been a hobby of mine, since I was 14 years old. My father would come home from the Sweat Shop he sewed mens suits and topcoats and got paid. He didn't get a pay per hour, as many do today. He only got paid for the number of completed garments (hence, piecework) he sewed. If he didn't feel up to working hard on any given day, his pay reflected that. When Dad got home, he was tired, but he always brought home a newspaper, which I browsed through while he napped before dinner. I had noticed pages of entries of company names and numbers, which I didn't understand. But after Dad explained it to me, I decided I would pretend I had money and purchase a company's stock and would put the price in a little notebook and track it each day. I can remember one of the first companies stock I imaginarily purchased was IBM. Interesting that 12 years later I would take a job at IBM. I have followed stocks and read over 100 books on investing since then. Much of what I have learned I have learned from actually trading. The costly mistakes I have made have made me a better investor. It took me almost 8 years to realize I was off 180 degrees in my timing to buy or sell stocks. This turned out to be the most important lesson I would learn.

Boiling this lesson down to something easy, here's what I learned. When the crowd is buying with a frenzy, try to sell as it gets extreme, while many are still buying, and try to Buy when everyone is throwing in the towel and selling, near the final gasp of selling.Watching Volume helps determine this point beter than price alone. It is counterintuitive and difficult to do but I found it was worth the effort. Over the past 10 years two such times come to mind. First when the market was rising so rapidly in 2000 on the Nasdaq, I was writing a newsletter which many readers here received. I had told everyone to go to cash 2 months before the big Tech bubble burst. I did and some others did and we were spared the drop. The second time was after 9/11, where I had told friends and family that when the market opened there was going to be a great panic to sell. I said wait and let it happen and then start buying back . Both moves were my best market calls and made me some good profits or saved big losses.

Back to the reason for this post. I can't believe I have written 1,000 blog posts. Hooray! Yippee. I can't believe I have had now over 38,000 Visitors and they have read over 62,000 pages of my Blog. Write a comment since you took the time to read this.

My first post on May 11th 2005 was titled, "JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS: Do common people care?" In closing here is a copy of that first post and a link to it to read the comments I received on it.

May 11, 2005

JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS: Do common people care?

I am amazed that most people are too busy to know what is going on in the Senate currently regarding the issue of ending the filibuster for Judicial nominations. I am more amazed at how both Republican and Democratic Senators are so entrenched in their positions. It is apparent to me that when Senators can no longer work together from both sides of the aisle, it is time to consider voting out all incumbents, Republican and Democrats alike and return the Senate back to caring about the people's business rather than pursuing zealous ideological positions that separate and divide us, rather than bring us together. The President and Vice President contribute to this divisiveness in spite of the President claiming to work to bring us together. All this when we are in a war, where our young men and women are constantly in harms way, attempting to help foster a democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, based upon our notion of democracy. I am ashamed as a citizen and angry at the lack of compromise in the Senate. However, I don't believe in compromise when the stakes are as high as they are now. Ending the filibuster will affect lifetime appointments of Judges with a more extreme viewpoint of a minority and harm this democracy. We need more centrists in governing our republic. Someone must heal this division before it is too late. Even if the Republicans are successful in suspending the Rules on filibustering for Judicial nominations, it is a slippery slope. When the Democrats regain the majority, as they certainly will again, when the shoe is on the other foot for Republicans, they won't be so happy they are on the receiving end of this action.

The real question is, do common people care enough to voice their views in a voice that can be heard around the world? I think not and that is most troubling to me. If we lose this true democracy, it will be all our fault, those for ending the filibuster, those against it, and those indifferent or too busy to act. Whether you are for this or against it, get involved and email or phone your Senators and let them know how you feel about this.

Link to the original, click on this: JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS.

The market malaise will soon end

The market malaise is soon to end. Why you ask? Because we are still in the President Bush depression and have yet to feel great about the transition to President Obama's change we can believe in. As we have all seen by the Republicans in the Congress and the Senate, they don't get it yet and neither does Speaker Pelosi, but with the Republicans looking more like obstructionists, they will get that as a permanent label and lose the next election again with the American people. If they had been smart, they could have argued behind the scenes with President Obama about what the Democrats did and have the President fight with the Democrats. But they are more Ego driven than smart. So in this fight the Republicans really lose.

But in the end, it will be Obama struggling with the far left in the Democratic Party to curb their wanting it all now, instant gratification at the expense of their super majority win in the next election. They have played it as poorly as the Republicans did under the Senate leadership of Sen. Bill Frist. Remember him?

We have yet to see what President Obama can do. He has much to do and has taken on a fast start jumping into the foray with both feet. This economy will turn around eventually and maybe not as fast as we all would like, but it will turn around. You can help make it sooner rather than later by continuing as best as possible your normal life. Don't be afraid to spend some funds, as it does help keep jobs and more specifically your job, as we are all connected to each other. Yes, we are still in a Bush hangover and it has us down because it was eight long years, too long for most of us. Believe the phrase made so popular by our President, "Yes We Can!", and let's shake this hangover quickly!

The economy: Lest we forget how scared we were just a few months ago.

Yes, it hasn't been that long ago when we were having a run on banks and Lehman Bros. went bankrupt, AIG, the insurance giant, also faced failure and we all saw the sky falling. As a matter of fact it was Sept. 15th to be exact. But here we are this morning with a new President who wants to change the politics of the past and get a more bipartisan spirit going in the country and both Party's haven't gotten the message, as the House bill on the stimulus passed with not one single Republican vote. In addition, today the Michigan Consumer Confidence number for January came in at 61.2%, up from a December number of 60.1%. GDP for the 4th Quarter was down 3.8%, the biggest drop in over 25 years and the stock market doesn't know which way to go. It was up at the open about 35 points and now is down 55 points but it is anyone's guess where it is going to wind up today. So what's going on?

In my view, we aren't as afraid as we were back in September and October. Call it the Obama Effect or just fatigue, but there is less fear today than there has been. This is compounding President Obama's effort to get everyone behind the much needed stimulus and may be partially the reason why so many Wall Street Exec's got big bonuses which Obama is all upset about. Would they have dared do this if fear was the dominant emotion. Unfortunately greed returned. In order for president Obama to really get the country behind him in solidarity, there must be a higher degree of fear present than there is today. That means more pain may be needed for all of us.

It certainly would shut the Republicans up, as everyone would be clamoring for President Obama to act, just as they did with President Bush and former Treasury Secretary Paulson and even the Democrats led that fight in a bipartisan way. Again it was the Republicans complaining about Bush's actions and being idealogues rather than offering better suggestions than just let everything fail as that is the Free Enterprise market. If they had done that everything would have been lost and we would have been entering a worldwide Depression instead of a bad recession.

The stimulus proposals: Should there be any compromise?

Question of the Day: When one negotiates with an opposition position, should the solution which emerges be a blend of both viewpoints? Let me tell you why I think this is an important question. It appears that President Obama is in the middle of opposing strategies, between Democrats and Republicans, on how to fix the economy and ease credit. It seems there were 2 views from Republicans when President Bush and Paulson were running the show. One view was let them do whatever they wanted and we have confidence they will do the right thing. That resulted in a 3 page proposal, proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson, which basically said "Trust us." Then there was another group of Republicans that said, "Don't spend the money to rescue. Let em fail and file for bankruptcy."

Just looking at those 2 positions seems to make any compromise from these extreme positions make both positions not work. That is the essence of the problems facing President Obama. That is with not even including the Democrats position on the matter. It seems to me that if everyone was truly scared again we might just forge ahead with one position in a strong way, be committed ti it and it might work. The other possibility is that we compromise each position to guarantee failure.

What do you think?

Market Outlook on Quadruple Witching day

Today is Quadruple Witching day for Options to expire for the end of 2008. Markets oversees are down but the news is that the Auto Industry bailout will be announced by President Bush. Ford Motors and GM stocks are up in pre-market about 10%. 3 Month LIBOR rates are at a new low at 1.50%. Having said that, the past 2 days have been down as I had predicted they might be and I don't see that they will rise today. Is it possible, yes. But going into the first week in January I see the markets having a very difficult time. So being on the Short side is the only strategy that makes sense for this timeframe. I see the markets rising near January 20th inauguration of President-Elect Obama. Just the magnitude of the proposed stimulus should help give hope in the markets.

I still own all my ETF Ultra Short shares of the S&P500, symbol SDS as well as TZA, which is a small cap ETF Short play.

Since many will be away I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Remember holidays with family can be healing. And everyone needs to be healed this year. If you haven't given to any charity this holiday because it has been tough, reconsider giving to your local Food Bank. They can really use the added help this year. God Bless.

Where are we headed in the stock market now? Unfortunately back to the lows!

Today will be Black Friday in the stock market. The failure of the Congress, specifically the Republicans in the Senate, to pass the rescue bridge loan for the Auto Industry, along with a few Democrats, will scare everyone in coming days. Portfolios will take a haircut and ensure this Christmas is bleak for retailers as well. You are watching the slow unwinding of our economy and unless their is strong leadership to stop this decline we are headed for the Great Depression of 2009.

The Dow is down over 260 before the pre-market opens in 45 minutes. I expect it to be much worse today. The Democrats in Congress are looking to President Bush to save the day and to agree to use TARP funds to come up with the loan. I can hear the argument the Democrats are using to convince the President. It goes something like this.

Mr. President you came to Congress fearing a calamity in the Banking and Insurance Industry and asked us to trust you and Hank Paulson with approval of $700 Billion in TARP money. In fact Mr. President, you submitted only a 1 page document asking us to just trust you, with no strings attached to the money. We added about 400 pages of requirements to the package but nevertheless we passed the legislation to basically give you cart blanche for the funds. Now for only $14 Billion of that $700 Billion, we are asking you to return the favor and save the auto industry at least till March. It costs only 1 month for what we have allowed you to spend in Iraq. So Mr. President, you can once again feel omnipotent as one of your last final acts, and approve this money and walk away a hero to the very Middle Class you nearly destroyed in your 8 years as President.

Getting to the market, if you have bought and held the ETF Ultra Short of the S&P500, symbol SDS, you are sitting pretty this morning. If you also added to your position you are going to see very good gains today and possibly Monday as I see Monday as a possible culmination of the drive to the lows of the market and retesting next week around 7300 to 7500 on the Dow. When we get there we may have Capitulation in the markets worldwide. Ford is down in pre-market to a low of $2.12/share. It may be a good buy back down below $2.00 as something will come along when Barack Obama becomes President on Jan. 20th and pass the funds needed with the new Congress. GM will most likely close factories to save cash until then.

Hold on for a tough ride just before Christmas. And if you are an Auto worker, I am sorry for your situation and the pain you will be going through, at least short term. You didn't create this mess, it was the leadership.

UPDATE 1:20pm P.S.T.
Comments by Paulson regarding the prospect of using TARP funds to provide a bridge loan for the Auto Industry, had the effect of neutralizing the negative outlook of the markets, at least for today. It does not put off the inevitable market pullback, only delays it. That's fine right now. We need a break as the stress can be too much for some. I will write more this weekend on the market so stay tuned.

Monday Nov. 17 Stock market view and strategy

Market action today will be down, as not much really came out of the G 20 meeting of world leaders in Washington, hosted by President Bush. If it were President Obama much would have been accomplished but there still is lacking confidence in the markets so that what we have is mostly sellers and no buyers.

My strategy today is to sell my Ultra Short ETF's if they hit my target price. For SDS that is $113.75 and for DXD my sale price is at $93.75. I also have an order of the market hits those lows to Buy an Ultra Pro longs on the S&P500 symbol SSO for $21.75/share.

I do not see the market rallying up. Much news over the weekend and the main story was not the G 20 meeting as much as the question as to whether the Congress will bail out GM and the Auto Industry. It didn't look good when I listened to the Sunday talk shows. That will cause the markets to drop significantly, most likely to the bottom where I see the Dow at 7,200 plus or minus 150 points.

Been waiting 8 very long years for today! VOTE!

This day hasn't come soon enough for me. Have you ever waited 8 years for anything, let alone replacing a President? These past 8 years have been an exhaustive and often demoralizing period of time in my life. In this country I love so much, I thought I would never see a President choose a war that was really an unnecessary misadventure, over a diplomatic solution. The costs alone were staggering and will be paid off in my children’s lifetime. That doesn't even come close to the cost to the families who lost a loved one unnecessarily or had a family member maimed for life.

Then there was the arrogance our President showed to everyone here and abroad. He didn’t need the world to support our invasion of Iraq basically alone. I am so tired of a cocky President and Vice President. Self-confidence is one thing, but arrogance is totally intolerable, especially for a President or Vice President.

The last straw for me was when President Bush and his inner circle decided on their own to redefine torture in such a way that they were then justified to do what they wanted to do with those in the grasp of their clutches. Sure we had some really bad, nasty guys. But we as a Country swore an oath to uphold the Geneva Convention, not because it was trying to appease others but rather it was agreed to, to help protect our troops if caught by an enemy, should they be captured. I was so angry when McCain, who was tortured, caved under pressure from President Bush and Vice President Cheney and went along with them and dropped his objection to legislation, which would provide cover to the both of them.

Yes, I have been waiting for a very long time to be able to listen to the TV and the words of a President I could once again respect, instead of muting the sound when they spoke. I have been waiting to hear words of honesty where I could once again believe what they said. I have been waiting a very long time to break the secretive nature of this Vice President and President and once again to obey and respect the Constitution, rather than looking for ways to go around it or suspend some of its protections for our rights hard fought.

Yes, it’s time for a change all right. The excesses of the past 8 –20 years have caused our economy and stock market to crash. Yes the Middle Class will be hurt a lot by more unemployment. But we will get through this and be a better people. We will watch over the weakest among us. We will provide charity to the needy as individuals because we know we are all in the same boat and those who have been blessed will step up to the plate. It’s a new day. It’s your new day if you choose it. Vote, as the well being of you, your family and your country need you to vote. This election is the most important election since the 1930's.

I know we will still have 2 1/2 months before the actual change of President and Vice President takes place on January 21st. But I have waited for 8 very long years, I can wait 2 1/2 more months, but today we take the first giant step.

There was one good thing that these past 8 years have initiated for me. It started me blogging as I was so frustrated I needed a way to release my feelings. Blogging helped me do that and find a new joy: writing!

Who's in charge during this financial crisis and what are they doing?

Headlines this morning read, "the President will not comment on daily market fluctuations." and another reads, "Treasury Sec. Paulson says he is "monitoring" markets. Another quote from the White House, "Markets are digesting information. It will take time to settle." Doesn't that just comfort you wonderfully, going into the weekend!

Georgia/Russian Conflict? Now Poland provides the incendiary fuel

This morning another news item about our deteriorating relationship with Russia caught my eye. When you read it remember the Cuban Missile crisis during the Presidency of JFK and how we felt. We must not do the same to Russia and must be more sensitive to their concerns. We can’t bomb our war to peace. We must talk and respect where others are coming from. In this situation we have walked in the Russian shoes and it did not feel good. We were all scared of a Nuclear confrontation. President Bush is bringing this past back with his failed Foreign policies and expansion into the former Soviet Republic.

We need to be more predictable in a positive way around the world. Right now we are very predictable in a negative way, we put sticks in our key relationship’s eyes and ask them not to complain about their pain. Shame on us. What arrogance as a nation that once was the hope for the world. If we continue our policy here we will let those former Soviet Republics down and they will be on their own. Yes they want to feel safer by cozying up to the west, but in reality there is only so much we can do and are willing to do.

Here is the news item and the link to it:

Russia: Poland risks attack because of US missiles
By JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW - A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations.

Poland and the United States on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile interceptor base as part of a system the United States says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations. Moscow, however, feels it is aimed at Russia's missile force.

"Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike — 100 percent," Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

He added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia's military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them." Nogovitsyn that would include elements of strategic deterrence systems, he said, according to Interfax.

At a news conference earlier Friday, Nogovitsyn had reiterated Russia's frequently stated warning that placing missile-defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic would bring an unspecified military response. But his subsequent reported statement substantially stepped up a war of words.

U.S. officials have said the timing of the deal was not meant to antagonize Russian leaders at a time when relations already are strained over the recent fighting between Russia and Georgia over the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia.

Russian forces went deep into Georgia in the fighting, raising wide concerns that Russia could be seeking to occupy parts of its small, pro-U.S. neighbor, which has vigorously lobbied to join NATO, or even to force its government to collapse.

Under the agreement that Warsaw and Washington reached Thursday, Poland will accept an American missile interceptor base.

"We have crossed the Rubicon," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, referring to U.S. consent to Poland's demands after more than 18 months of negotiations.

Washington says the planned system, which is not yet operational, is needed to protect the U.S. and Europe from possible attacks by missile-armed "rogue states" like Iran. The Kremlin, however, feels it is aimed at Russia's missile force and warns it will worsen tensions.

In an interview on Poland's news channel TVN24, Tusk said the United States agreed to help augment Poland's defenses with Patriot missiles in exchange for placing 10 missile defense interceptors in the Eastern European country.

He said the deal also includes a "mutual commitment" between the two nations to come to each other's assistance "in case of trouble."

That clause appeared to be a direct reference to Russia.

Poland has all along been guided by fears of a newly resurgent Russia, an anxiety that has intensified with Russia's offensive in Georgia. In past days, Polish leaders said that fighting justified Poland's demands that it get additional security guarantees from Washington in exchange for allowing the anti-missile base on its soil.

Why it is important for the Congress to start Impeachment hearings at this late stage of the Bush Presidency.

Many believe that while Bush deserves to be impeached for what he has done to this country in taking us into a war with Iraq based upon lies, it is too late to do anything meaningful and that they should just let his term come to an end. Well that argument can be overwhelmed with a more compelling reason to pursue impeachment.

According to many expert Constitutional lawyers, there are several compelling reasons to pursue impeachment of President Bush, even at this late stage of his Presidency. Let me cite a few reasons why many citizens have no clue as to the ramifications of Impeachment hearings at this late stage of the Bush Presidency. First, if Articles of Impeachment are brought up against President Bush, the President would lose his power to grant blanket pardons to those of his Administration who may have committed crimes. There is considerable buzz in the press that this is exactly what Bush plans to do before leaving office.

Secondly, once Articles of Impeachment have been initiated by Congress, the President loses his right of Executive Privilege. Why is this important. It is important because this President and Vice President have kept much hidden from Congress to do its job of oversight of the Executive branch. If the Articles were initiated, we might understand whether there were Crimes committed by Vice President Cheney in outing then CIA covert operative Valerie Plame. Remember that it was Special Prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, who was charged with investigating the CIA leak and found Scooter Libby guilty (and then pardoned by Bush) and said that there was a cloud around the Vice President as to whether he also committed a crime. This is important and has not been resolved. These are several good reasons why it is important to initiate the Articles of Impeachment of Bush. Thank you Rep. Dennis Kucinich for initiating this process, Rep.Robert Wexler for his support, as well as Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers.

Raise your voice to your elected officials to support these proceedings going forward. To listen to the hearings in real time starting at about 10:30am EST or 7:30am PST on CSPAN or on the radio on KPFA, which will broadcast this Congressional meeting live.

What's really at stake in the November Presidential election? The direction of the Supreme Court and whether our Constitutional rights are protected!!

Yes, history is being made this year by who we chose as our next President. Some see the historical choices between whether we choose an African-American or our oldest President. But others see this election as a battle for the essence of our way of life: for the next President will most likely appoint at least one new Supreme Court Justice and possibly 2. This will determine many issues near and dear to the hearts of all Americans. Will the Court continue its right leaning direction where the right of habeas corpus was suspended? Will the Court eliminate the rights of people to determine what choices they are allowed to make regarding end of life decisions when those individuals can't decide for themselves, as was the case with the family of Terri Schiavo? Will a woman have dominion over her own body in deciding whether or not to continue an unwanted pregnancy? Will the Executive Branch have sole discretion as to renditions of foreign citizens off the streets of cities all over the world? Will the Executive Branch be allowed to determine when it wiretaps U.S. citizens without the approval of the FISA Court?

We are stuck with the likes of Anthony Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito for many years to come, as Supreme Court Justices serve for life. The next President will determine whether our Constitution is upheld or trashed, as has been the case these past 7 plus years under President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Some decisions have been close as was the recent split decision of the Court regarding reinstating habeas corpus for detainees in Guantanamo. Sec. of Defense Robert Gates wants to shut down Guantanamo as he sees it as a stain on the reputation of the U.S. around the world. Both Barack Obama and John McCain also want to shut it down for similar reasons.

But here we have President Bush and Vice President Cheney who saw fit to bypass the law and put these prisoners there keeping them from our legal system and the scrutiny and fairness which our judicial system is known for throughout the world. They were allowed to do this by the Republican Congress and then supported defacto by the Democratic Congress, too afraid to challenge this President. The media was also complicit by not challenging this President often enough. It took regular lawyers trying to preserve the Constitution to take up the cause of these prisoners who don't really deserve it, to stand up and be willing to fight this battle, not for the prisoners but for our way of life. They believed the Constitution is important enough to fight for. Many on the right see them as unpatriotic. I see them as the most patriotic and I salute them all. We need all 3 branches of government functioning properly. We have had both the Congress and Executive Branch functioning terribly. We almost had the Judiciary branch doing the same if it were not for the 5 voting in favor of restoring habeas corpus and striking down 2 other times the Bush Administration's attempts of circumventing our Constitution.

So what is at stake in the election in November is enormous and will determine the kind of country we live in for the next generation. Get involved in this one as your life depends on it as does the very life of this blessed country. If you are not registered to vote make it a priority in your life.

Headline reads: Supreme Court rules against Bush for the third time. This time on Guantanamo prisoners rights!

Here's some detail: Guantanamo Bay inmates have constitutional rights and may seek release in federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a rebuke to the Bush administration and Congress on their handling of accused terrorists.

The justices, voting 5-4, said a 2006 law unconstitutionally stripped Guantanamo prisoners of the right to file so-called habeas corpus petitions. The majority, pointing to the six years that some detainees have spent in captivity, said a system of limited judicial review set up by Congress didn't adequately protect inmate rights.

``The costs of delay can no longer be borne by those who are held in custody,'' Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. ``The detainees in these cases are entitled to a prompt habeas corpus hearing.''

Now back in September of 2007 I identified those Senators voting for Habeas Corpus rights for these prisoners and those voting against their rights. I reprint below from my earlier Blog posting on that day so you can make your determination who was right and were vindicated today by the Supreme Court. However, many ideologues will see the problem is the Supreme Court majority, as they were not Bus's appointees. This should be a rallying point for Democrats and Independents.

Sept. 20th 2007
The vote to restore Habeas Corpus was defeated today by 56 in favor of restoring it to 43 saying Naye. Sixty votes were need to end cloture. We can all be upset that it didn't pass but I would rather focus on something positive and that is to recognize those brave Republican Senators voting with the Democrats to restore it.

They include:

Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea

These above Senators deserve to be reelected in their communities.

BRAVO Senators!

Of the 2 Independent Senators only one voted with the Democrats:

Sanders (I-VT), Yea

Voting with the Republicans was Leiberman (I-CT), No

All Democrats voted in favor of the Bill.

If the tables were turned and any of these Senators had been incarcerated by our government without due process, they would have voted with the Democrats. Same is true if their kids were serving in Iraq, they would vote more frequently with the Democrats, not all but more of them.

They give us little choice as voters but to replace them in next years Election for their inflexibility on some common sense legislation.

Those voting AGAINST the bill to restore Habeas Corpus are these (who need to be replaced whenever they term is up):

Alexander (R-TN), Nay
Allard (R-CO), Nay
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
Bennett (R-UT), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Nay (Presidential Candidate)
Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Chambliss (R-GA), Not Voting
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay
Coleman (R-MN), Nay
Collins (R-ME), Nay
Corker (R-TN), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Craig (R-ID), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Nay
Domenici (R-NM), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Nay
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Graham (R-SC), Nay
Grassley (R-IA), Nay
Gregg (R-NH), Nay
Hatch (R-UT), Nay
Hutchison (R-TX), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
Lott (R-MS), Nay
Martinez (R-FL), Nay
McCain (R-AZ), Nay (Presidential Candidate and former Prisoner of war)
McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Murkowski (R-AK), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Nay
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Voinovich (R-OH), Nay
Warner (R-VA), Nay

To read the entire article click here.

Rep. Dennis Kucinch defies Pelosi and introduces Articles of Impeachment against President Bush

Rep.Dennis Kucinch (D-OH), former Presidential candidate, took the extraordinary step on Monday to read Articles of Impeachment against President Bush in a move to defy the will of Nancy Pelosi, who has said "impeachment is off the table." Many are scoffing at Kucinch's move but I for one applaud the move and it raises the question as to the complicity of the Democrats with the Bush Administrations record on torture and violation of the Constitution with illegal wiretapping of its citizens.

I for one had hoped the Democrats would have kept their oath of office in protecting the rights of citizens by ensuring the Constitution is not violated by this President or any future President by bringing impeachment charges on this President. If not for these High Crimes and Misdemeanors by this President and Vice President, then what Crimes more deserve this action. I applaud Rep. Kucinich's actions and those who have also supported this action; Rep. Wexler of Florida and Rep. Conyers of Michigan.