Reflections on Dr. MLK, Jr. Day

Today I listened to Dr. Martin Luther King's most famous "dream" speech rebroadcast on CNN this morning. My youngest asked me what we were going to do for Martin Luther King Day and I really didn't have a plan. Just then, my mother called telling me about the broadcast and an impromptu celebration/discussion was underway. Why didn't I have a plan? I should celebrate the history of black America and how, on the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration, King's dream has been realized to some extent. Certainly there are still deep reverberations of racial injustice and inequality throughout America, one only has to look at the electoral map to get an idea of where those areas are; areas that I definitely would not want to move to. Tomorrow, America will inaugurate its first black President and we can all rejoice that steps are being made in the right direciton.

The evidence of Dr. King's speech that speaks most clearly to me when it comes to the election of Barack Obama is the part about being judged by the content of one's character and not by the color of one's skin. This is the part that I hope is applied to myself and my family when we go out into the world and execute all that we are capable of. Every race has those who achieve and those who do not achieve. Sadly, all races have an underclass that is unable or unwilling to capitalize on all that is right with America. The difference is that the black race, despite their heritage or birth including recent immigrants, Caribbean, African, European and others are overburdened by the characters and behaviors associated with those in the black underclass and not by the characters and behaviors associated with those who are achieve.

This is the part that I hope will change with Obama; the notion that all black people act and behave a certain way when those of us who have been struggling and achieving all of these years were marginalized. All Americans have the ability to achieve; some will and some won't but at least, I hope, people of the various black racial groups will finally be judged on their merit as we have judged Obama.

Obama This, Obama That

Well, it wasn't going to be too long before I weighed in on the Obama Cabinet picks. Hate Them. Well, not all of them, just too many familiar faces. Familiarity breeds contempt doesn't it? 

I could re-trench the commentary, too many Clintonites, too many Senators including the Pres. and Vice Pres., too many Democrats, too many Governors, and what's with the keeping of Bush's lapdog Defense Secretary Robert Gates? Or that Hilary Clinton for Secretary of State? Talk about keeping your enemies close enough to ship them out of the country whenever you like. There's the riffs on change we need, apparently Obama's advisors are telling him, you're all the change you're going to get away with buddy, you better pick some people who actually know what to do. So now we have barely any change at all. 

I'm trying to avoid all of this speculation and punditry, it is like commentary at a sporting event except it is drowning out the game and making Obama seem less than exciting. He is behaving so Presidentially, he is no longer at ease or as engaging. I want my old pre-elected Obama back.

Actually, following the play by play is usually not my style. There is only one event that I want to witness and that's the inauguration. All of this fill the void brouhaha is what it is, noise.

The government runs for itself, by the people who protect it, and for those who are a part of it. Representation is almost dead, like chivalry, it is nice in theory but can only be partially executed. You can hold the door open for the girl, she passes through, she thanks you but tells you to stay the hell out of her way next time, she can really do it herself or elect the President for the people, he can only present change but if the people are not truly willing, he cannot fully execute it.

Observations On Another Down Day

The stock market woke up today, fresh from another delusional rallying stupor, looked around and noticed that the economy is bad and tanked over 400 points...again. It keeps sinking when it recognizes reality and rallying for no other reason than it is tired of sinking. Citigroup stock is at $6.45, GM at $2.79, Ford at $1.26 and so on; what more indication do we need to convince ourselves that things are not so good? 

More companies are on the brink of requesting bailouts and those who already got them still whine for more. So we ask our Treasury Secretary, where did all the money go? and he decides not to tell us. The only place where that $350,000,000,000 infusion of bailout dollars trickled down into is the pockets of the CEOs, upper management and shareholders in the form of dividends. This is what happens when all of these financial corporations get capital infusions in return for shares - business as usual. Except this time around they are not lending us any money at all. Who are the fools as we watch the economic disaster continue to roll out its red carpet before us while our hard-earned tax dollars wind up in the hands of the connected few? 

All we see are so many stores going out of business and though we are initially shocked by the revelations, we consumers begin circling like hawks. We look around and scoff at the huge beckoning signs, "up to 30% off original prices," "nothing held back," and the ubiquitous "everything must go," as we turn our noses up at the paltry bargains, most of which are priced only 10-20% off. We mutter to ourselves and to our fellow shoppers that the bargains are not so good, one shopper asked me "where's all the stuff for 30% that they promised? For a nation of shoppers who have been handed coupons for the last few years regularly giving us 20-30-40% off the item of our choice and enticed by the seemingly endless clearance sales offering 40-50-60% off, we are not so moved by a liquidation sale where prices revert back to original prices with a puny amount off. We shoppers have all been trained to seek better bargains. We all want to buy something but we are afraid to spend too much.

The only thing I've learned about spending lately is the opposite of the lessons I have been adhering to: be prudent and wise, save for a rainy day, don't spend what you can't afford and do what you can to suspend instant gratification. I am not so sure anymore because all the money I scrimped to save is gone and right now I don't have much money to purchase what I really need. Only the connected few have it the best, when times are good they spend and when times are bad they still spend. Case in point, witness the auto executives flying in on their private jets to beg Congress for our money.

His Story

My fingers are crossed, my toes are crossed, my nerves are crossed...I'm not sure I can put together a cohesive sentence. This is the eve of a real opportunity for Americans to step forward into a better era and a better history. Tomorrow, history will be made regardless of which party wins this election. This is the only instance where Barack Obama and Sarah Palin can be mentioned together in the same light; he may become the first black President, she may become the first female Vice President.

It is pretty clear Barack Obama should win this historic round. Barack Obama has run a masterful campaign and he has transcended the realm of mere candidacy to become the leader of a movement; a movement that will shake America out of its hallowed racial barriers towards an America that is inclusive of all and a positive beacon for the rest of the world. As Obama states often, the road will not be easy even if he is chosen to lead, for the America that he deserves to be handed tomorrow will be a mere shadow of its former self, hollowed out by a self-serving, arrogant leadership that has bled it dry of whatever virtue it had left.

To my dear friends, who have walked the walk, talked the talk, and pounded the streets to gather support for Obama; who sacrificed their time and energy to promote victory for the rest of us, may your tireless efforts be rewarded tomorrow and may we all share in the glory.

John McCain Campaign an Embarassment to Republican Party

Sarah Palin has become a caricature and unfortunately has taken John McCain with her. Now he is standing at the podium calling out for "Joe the Plumber," who apparently didn't show up and Fox News is interviewing "Tito the Builder," Sarah Palin's new sidekick. To make matters worse, Sarah Palin has "gone rogue" for even attempting to say a few words of her own, and all of this is wrapped up in a bubble of negativity, race-baiting, and mixed messages. How did John McCain stoop so low?

Throughout all of this, Barack Obama has run a tight campaign, raised a gazillion dollars, adhered to an inspiring message of change, appeared Presidential and has appeared completely on message every-time, is thoughtful and engaging, has rally's filled with cheers while McCain's have been filled with boos, has inspired many Americans to vote and be engaged in the political process for the first time and yet there are still so many Americans who say they are still undecided. How in a thinking brain can Americans look at the evidence and still consider John McCain and the Republican party worthy contenders for the Presidency?

And, I haven't even mentioned the economic meltdown that should be sweetening Obama's pot as far as Americans are concerned. Yet, these people will apparently vote themselves out of economic existence because they are so ignorant that they can't cross the great racial divide to vote for the best Presidential candidate of any race that America has had in a long time; an intelligent contender who actually has a good chance of leading us out of this mess. It is virtually impossible for anyone in the thinking set to comprehend how Americans can be so ignorant after all of this time that they can watch the talking heads on Fox News laugh and mock any guest with even a remote sense of intelligence.

Americans are out there standing up today shouting out at the McCain/Palin rally "Obama is a muslim, Obama is a terrorist" and building up so much antagonism that skinheads were arrested this week for attempting to plan to assassinate Obama. The McCain campaign is stoking this fear. Why would the Republican Party let itself be hijacked by anti-intellectual, pro-America, pro-white, pro-evangelist faction to the point where they are considering Sarah Palin for an important leadership role going forward? What will happen to the idea-based conservatives like Peggy Noonan, David Frum, Chris Buckley, David Brooks and others who believe in the Reagan's Republican party of small government, low taxes and free-market capitalism?

Hopefully they will have the next 4 years to think about it.

Obamercial is Flawless

On the eve of Obama's 30 minute prime-time infomercial, the critics were weighing in on this unprecedented occasion, well I keep hearing that Ross Perot did one but I must admit I don't remember it and I haven't looked it up, that it could wind up being a foot in mouth, over-confident, over-the top propaganda message, that it may backfire, that it was too much of a risk at this late stage, or the sheer cost of it is absurd, why is Fox delaying the world series for it, and that Obama is unfairly spending ill-gotten gains because he reneged on his pledge to accept public financing and the accompanying fund-raising cap even though at the time they were skeptical of his ability to raise cash on the open market. Even I was starting to dread the decision as too risky.

Well nervous nellies, it was flawless! Every lingering doubt, every policy point and all fears were put to rest as Obama delivered his message as a narrative through the eyes of middle class, swing-state based Americasn in a well-produced, engaging 30 minutes that was inspiring. How dare he make us hard-hearted folks feel hope for America? Well, if you caught John McCain on Larry King after the broadcast that was certainly his tone, whining, complaining and pushing his negative Obama message missing the opportunity once again to brush off Obama and tell the captive American audience why they should vote for him.

You watch one half hour of feel-good TV, followed by 12 minutes of grumpy old guy and you start to wonder why he still has statistically significant support. Either it is a testament to John McCain's credentials as a formidable candidate that he can run a disastrously disjointed, negative campaign, even choosing a woefully inadequate running mate and still be within a few digits in the polls or Obama is a black man.

Pre-Election Fatigue

Since I started my job, the television sets in the break-rooms have all been tuned to CNN, all day, every day, without a break. I wonder if someone will turn the channel, maybe, after the election. I am not sure if this is the custom or borne of necessity; satisfying the news-addicted selves that many of us have become. Nevertheless, every time you get water, coffee, prepare your breakfast and/or lunch, there is one of them talking, Obama, McCain, Palin and sometimes Biden; his rallies get the least coverage.

When I come home, we have the news on, with a little more flexibility in that we flip through all the news channels, listening to all the pontification on the election as if it is a sporting event; the play by play with all of the obvious commentary and conclusions batted about with authority. The all-knowing pundits making fools of themselves especially those sincerely defending the erratic actions of the McCain/Palin campaign; so dark, so extreme the comedy. But now, I have to say, I am absolutely sick of it!

Today, as I was in the kitchen and Obama was on, a co-worker commented that he was just as "dirty as the rest of them," and he was not saying anything new; it was the same old yadda yadda that he's been hearing for weeks, no months, probably a year at least. Before I go on I must interject, why do citizens expect impeccable behavior from politicians when the nature of the beast dictates that you have to get your hands dirty to succeed? It is a necessary evil if you want to survive; serving the people sometimes means subverting the people in order to continue to serve the people.

No politician can be pristine yet the expectation of some kind of morale facade is deeply rooted in the election process. And, for the duration of said election cycle, the politicians sling mud at each other while we all pat ourselves on the back resplendent in our candidate's ability to take a moral highground just a little higher than the opponent's. Satisfactory. Job well done. And if not, what he or she should or should not have said with the same jawboning of an academic exercise. Filler. Commercial. Filler. Flip the Channel.

Anyhow, I digress. I deftly steered my co-worker to some non-partisan websites and explained that one can separate the stump from the message and when you dig deep into the message you get a different picture of the candidates that will clarify all the sound-bites. After he conceded that I was right about Obama, he happily went on and I happily scored another one for the cause. But, I couldn't help that he was right about the elections season overload. I am starting to turn away from all the noise; not just me, many of us are now suffering from pre-election fatigue, all wanting the election to be over, to be done with the incessant partisan rant and to be happy that we have elected a better President than what we now.

So tonight, I found TiVo again and tried to reclaim some connection to the fall TV season. What, 6 episodes behind on Mad Men? I've got a lot of catching up to do.

Benefits of Racial Doubt

The politics of race is back in the spotlight as America is poised to elect its first black President. The McCain/Palin supporters are being reminded of this on a daily basis as they are wooed on the pretense that they are more "pro-America" than Obama/Biden supporters, that Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein, has muslim/terrorist implications certainly heightened by his connection to Bill Ayers, former '60s radical protest bomber now conveniently recast as a domestic terrorist, and by their own rejection of Obama, simply because he is a black man.

General Colin Powell said it best this weekend when he crossed his party-line to endorse Senator Obama for President stating eloquently that the Republican party was narrowing in its scope, in that it was now tending to be more exclusive than inclusive. And, if in fact Obama was a muslim which he is not, what is so wrong with being American and muslim? Why should/would this be a limiting factor in the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Unfortunately for Obama, in a vast swath of the country, old prejudices die hard; ignorance and provincialism has rendered a large portion of the conservative, fundamentalist Christian population, unrepentingly racist. Gov. Sarah Palin has been out preaching to the choir, allowing them to draw the very conclusions that they are expected to draw to great affect. Sen. John McCain, having been subject to a racial mudslinging by George Bush and Co. during the 2000 Republican primaries, must be turning in his sleep as he struggles to rectify his campaign's cognitive dissonance; dependence on these "rural folk" for votes causing him to implicitly condone their racial outlook by omission of strong condemnation.

Democratic Sen. John Murtha stated a few days ago that his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist, basically a bunch of rednecks and he has implored them to look beyond race and listen to what Obama is saying. This has been the battle cry of many Obama supporters, including union leaders and the like in these traditionally working class (white) areas.

Disaffection with the Republican party together with the economic decline, housing bubble and Wall Street collapse has inadvertently propelled many rural Americans to rethink their racist underpinnings simply because the democratic nominee for President is telling them what they want to hear and just so happens to be a black man. What a turnaround! Black Americans aren't used to getting the benefit of the doubt.

Obama Tax Plan: Rates Similar to Clinton, less than Reagan.

Senator Obama is getting hammered on his tax plan and I have read it. Why doesn't Senator Obama dispel the current talking points sweeping the news media and clarify his plan? He must definitively state that his tax plan returns to tax levels similar to what we had during Clinton when the country experienced a great degree of growth. In addition he should reiterate that President Reagan had higher tax rates in key areas such as capital gains and everyone loved Reagan.

Overall, Obama is essentially repealing the tax cuts of the last 8 years. Those with the funds did make money, all you have to do is compare the Fortune 500 data for these last 8 years. Is it not fair to attempt to level the playing field by giving the middle class the tax cuts this time around?

Also, Obama should point out some of the following facts as well, lest people believe he really is about to set up a socialist state. It is ironic that John McCain is stirring up socialist distrust in Obama's tax plan while President Bush and his Republican appointees are busy ploughing tax dollars into and claiming an ownership stake in private financial enterprises across the globe. This is way more expensive socialism than what Obama is proposing.

(Note: The following list is by no means comprehensive or else I would be here all day):

1. The tax plan does not give tax credits back to those who do not pay taxes but in fact eliminates taxes for seniors earning less than $50,000 - it is not welfare for the lazy paid by the hard-working.

2. The tax plan does not tax people grossing $250,000, it is the tax on the adjusted gross income meaning you have to earn much more than $250,o00 in order to pay taxes on $250,000 after all of your deductions and credits

3. Maybe he should stop mentioning the $250,000 level unless he is going to clarify #2 above. Grossing $250,000 is barely enough to live comfortably on the East Coast in NY. We live on Long Island; we know this is far from any feeling of wealth whatsoever. This is why scale of top 10% of wage-earners should be geographically adjusted. Yes, $250,000 in Appalachia is a lot of money.

4. Most of all, explain the tax credits that he is giving such as aid to families with children in college, mortgage tax relief, and low income tax relief and that he is not giving tax breaks to those who do not pay taxes. If he is, he will have to cut this part out!

For those of you who have read Obama's tax plan, it appears rational and fair in theory. For those of you who hear it second-hand through your biased media venue, it sounds a whole lot more suspicious than it really is.

Joe Who? McCain flashes New Gimmick, Obama Wins

Oh no, not another gimmick! Halfway through this debate, I was ready to call John McCain the winner but alas it was not too be. Somehow, he got side-tracked by his new gimmick of the day, "Joe the Plumber," the guy who said Obama scared him because if he bought the business that he has been working for all of these years, he would make over $250,000 a year which qualifies him for tax increases under Obama's plan and he felt he should be able to keep more of the money he will earn. Heck, Republicans think this and they keep the taxes low for those who make the most as usual. Obama proposes more tax cuts for the middle class instead, noble yes, doable? probably not.

Nevertheless, McCain did not seal the deal in the 2nd half, leaving Obama to make his declarations with relative calm and ease. Even the Fox News people are waxing philosophical on how Obama was unflappable, how he detailed his plans, how he spoke directly to the American people, how he said the middle class deserved a tax break, how he diffused the criticism of Bill Ayers, how McCain failed to trump him on the abortion issue...and so on.

I am not sure I expected much from this debate other than to hear more about the new economic plans that were unveiled this week. They were barely mentioned and definitely not answered; well, broadly I suppose but not specifically. McCain once again takes the cake for his sweeping "I know how to fix it" non-specific solutions to America's ailments which caused him to fail the 2nd half of the debate; Obama continued with specifics throughout and out-explained McCain on McCain's own policies. Oh Well.

If I go back to my response regarding debate #2 on Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 2nd Presidential Debate Leans Obama, I can basically write the same review so why re-invent the wheel. Obama won for the same reasons he won last time. Another thought is that McCain still thinks he can win with the same nastiness and shallow assessment that George Bush unleased on him in 2000. Well, George Bush used it again in 2004. It took a dose of economic reality for Americans to wake up to the truth of deceptive politics. They don't like it right now, so much. Of course, this does not mean that they can't be deceived again. It will all come around, again.

Presidential Debate #3: Truth or Smear?

Tomorrow, the 3rd and final Presidential Debate will take place at Hofstra University, one of Long Island's premier institutions of higher learning. Once again Americans will have high hopes of hearing a meaningful discussion about the issues. After all, both Obama and McCain have introduced brand new addenda to their economic plans this week and we want to hear about them. Also, the debate has been painted as McCain's last attempt to shine given that recent polls show an increase in Obama's lead.

McCain, fresh off his pandering-to-the-base tour, has offered up yet more gems of economic inconsistency touting benefits that still tilt toward reducing the tax burden of our wealthier denizens. He has also hinted that he will bring up Obama's connections to Bill Ayers. Does he not realize that Obama's lead has increased exponentially since those attacks began? Well, Obama did say that he was surprised that McCain did not bring up those negativisms to his face during the last debate and now, McCain the man seems compelled to respond. This is the conclusion we all would make, I suppose, if we were coming off the same tour as McCain; egged on by his narrow-minded rabid fans.

McCain seems to have forgotten that he has plenty of guilt by association skeletons in his closet too so he may want to leave that stuff on the redneck trail where it belongs. Moreover, he had better be mindful that he will be in a blue state tomorrow with actual thinking people who will not respond to anti-intellectual cheap shots, or will they?

Obama also has plenty of explaining to do because I swear the man is on democratic liberal crack unveiling reams of spending plans to help everybody. I don't know how he expects the taxpayers to pony-up that kind of dough now that we have guaranteed all the bank deposits in the world. After all, that $500,000,000,000 deficit that has already been projected for the 2009 U.S. budget is definitely double by now.

Irrational exuberance has now taken over the U.S. government; the national debt clock in Times Square has run out of digits but somehow we have unlimited funds to guarantee the world financial markets and give tax breaks to poor Tom, healthcare-less Dick and jobless Harry. All hands are out and less money is supposed to come in? I hope these candidates find some financial rectitude and tell it like it is tomorrow.

Republican or Democrat: Which Side God?

I grew up in a Christian family that is pretty devout; not just showing up at Church on Sundays but attending weekly bible study and religious events. I, on the other hand, never internalized this part of my upbringing and to this day my family spends countless hours trying to convert me once and for all to the fold. So far I have remained unmoved until this week when the urge to pray has overtaken me as I witness the current political, social, and economic climate in the United States.

Christian conservative values are most aligned with and championed by the Republican party yet Republicans have by far engaged in the most immoral behavior over the last 8 years; there is not one single aspect of this Republican government that has not been cited for deceptive and/or criminal behavior. Yet, the Republicans continue to hold the monopoly on religious allegiance even while construing falsehoods and stirring the pot of prejudice and ignorance.

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has been out spewing the most vitriolic attacks on Sen. Barack Obama this week with little concern that the Alaska legislature was due to report today on whether she abused her power as Governor. What brazen gall? Unfortunately, they found her "slap on the wrist" guilty so it will be a wash; her evangelist base has already forgiven her every transgression thus far. Why does belief in God give you a free pass to despicable behavior?

With the backing of conservatives and evangelists everywhere, the McCain-Palin ticket has been encouraged to win at any cost; resorting to the politics of fear as the only strategy left at their disposal. It does not seem like the most Christian-like behavior especially when juxtaposed with the Obama campaign's message of hope. What does this say about America and its democracy? After all of this nastiness, the polls still indicate a fairly close race and this is why I am praying. Dear Lord, please be on the side of Obama. Amen.

What Happened to John McCain?

Most Americans had respect for John McCain whether or not they agreed with his politics. That respect has been severely strained for some and completely broken for others. He has allowed Sarah Palin to whip his supporters into such a far right frenzy with all the trappings of ignorance and prejudice that they all have lost sight of reason. This is a shame considering that John McCain was the first to declare earlier this year that he wanted to run a "clean" campaign.

The Dow has nose-dived 2000 points in the last 5 days to less than 8,600 points; my brain still cannot comprehend. The Federal Government through the treasury and the Federal Reserve has committed trillions to rescuing the economy without any negligible effect. This downturn is so serious, even the rich are losing money. Yet, all we hear from McCain-Palin is nasty attacks about Barack Obama's connection with Bill Ayers, the 60's era anti-Vietnam Domestic terrorist turned educator, who Obama worked with on education reform.

Joe Conason of RealClearPolitics.com wrote today:

"Entering the election's final weeks, the rhetoric of the former maverick and his lipstick-toting pit bull, Gov. Sarah Palin, has turned so ugly and inflammatory that their rallies have begun to sound like lynch mobs."

"What these concluding weeks have told us about the Republican candidate, to the shock and surprise of many of his admirers, is that he misunderstands the meaning of honor. Evidently he believes that the credit he accrued for suffering bravely for his country in Vietnam somehow licenses him to campaign as crudely and deceptively as he can, if that will help him to win. He seems not to realize that the respect he earned so many years ago requires him to uphold a higher standard of decency in politics."

Even Cindy McCain has jumped into the fray declaring that Obama, who has lobbed his own attacks on MCain though he has not sunk as low, has run the "dirtiest campaign in American History." What? The heights of denial to which the McCain campaign has sunk will require years of therapy to unwind, for all of us. Obama has kept calm, continues to evoke a Presidential aura and push his economic policy to salvage America; meanwhile McCain's supporters are so rabid, it is clear that they are beyond listening to his economic prescriptions. Ever thought a 1/2 black man with a funny name could be President? McCain really thinks so and he is fighting against it like mad.

Bailout Bill Stinks

Oh how our Congress people, House and Senate, held their noses to sign the new bailout bill which was suddenly more appealing because it included an additional $110,000,000,000 in what are essentially earmarks. So, the last great act of George Bush’s Presidency, which has been characterized by reckless and excessive government spending, is to alleviate the credit crisis by enacting the largest most reckless government spending bill with the purpose of bailing out Wall street in the name of saving Main street. The House and the Senate drank it, swallowed it and made it better by increasing the monetary size of it. I’m glad they got that straight…not!

Democrats and Republicans should be ashamed at their own shortsightedness that all they could do to solve the credit crisis was to take the one and only $700,000,000,000 offer from the Bush Administration, courtesy of appointees Paulson and Bernanke, and make it even more egregious than it already was. After the House bill was soundly defeated on Monday, not one solitary Congressperson or Senator could offer another approach that would achieve the same end without selling the taxpayer a bridge to nowhere? The best they could do was take the same bill, triple the number of pages and to take a phrase from Ted Stevens, almost but not totally disgraced Senator from Alaska who was head of the transportation committee when he resigned, “stuff that bill like a turkey.”

In the interim between Monday’s failure and Friday’s begrudging acceptance of this disastrous piece of legislation, the Federal Reserve pumped hundreds of billions more into the monetary system so in essence we, the taxpayer, spent more than $1,000,000,000,000 this week on the premise that we had to do something. There is a difference between needing a solution and accepting a bad solution out of sheer ineptitude. If I were Barack Obama I would abandon this race and let McCain win. He might have to repeat his “thing with Hilary” but I would let the Republicans take George Bush’s mess and go down with that ship. After all the expenditure and economic disaster yet to come, I say, let them have it.

What a Difference a Weekend Makes...

Much clarity has been given to certain situations though many more waters have been muddied...

The Bailout Fails: In a vote of 228 Nay vs. 205 Yea, the House of Representatives failed to pass the $700 billion bailout package with a resounding 2 to 1 nay on the part of the Republicans. Thank you Republicans. There, I said it. I am happy this bill did not pass because I did not know all of the details and I think it was too large a sum to make such a hasty decision.

I understand that this is really about Commercial Paper and not bailing out Wall Street but then don't put forth a bill with little explanation granting vast powers to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who is from Wall Street and has private interests (mainly Goldman Sachs) to protect. There are many other methods, all equally valid, that would assist in returning liquidity to the Credit markets. This is about confidence in lending; banks and others are all undermined by their own lapsed judgment in lending. The Federal Reserve is doing all it can by dropping additional hundreds of billions into the global markets but still the Commercial paper market remains frozen. If banks don't lend to each other then small businesses and individual borrowers suffer the most. It is possible that the Fed is overextending itself, more to follow on this I am sure.

The rest of it is that the markets do need to correct; we accept correction in every other market except this one? In any case, a bailout package should, at its core, provide relief to struggling home owners; there has to be a provision to allow borrowers to re-negotiate their loans with a fixed interest rate between 6.5% to 7% and a longer loan term of 40-50 years. The point is the loan amount remains the same but the payments become more affordable and when the markets return to health these borrowers will be able to refinance to a shorter term loan or better interest rate. This way the prudent people who did choose affordable loans do not feel punished for being prudent.

Dow drops 777.68 - A Day That Will Live in Infamy: The Dow suffered one of the worse days in history dropping nearly 500 points the instant the House vote was closed; it was already hovering around $280 points down pre-vote. We watched it in real time; most of my coworkers checked in on the CNN Money site which crashed momentarily; MarketWatch, my preferred choice, stood firm though refreshed at an agonizingly slow pace. All hell instantly broke loose; political spin, partisanship blaming; John McCain claiming credit for bringing together the bailout package then having to sidestep himself when it failed damningly by his own party. Ouch. Also John McCain appeared with Gov. Sarah Palin in a joint interview to save her from remarks she made about Pakistan that he criticized Obama for saying in the debate. Double Ouch.

Saturday Night Live Palin Skit Dead On: Yet another Sarah Palin skit was unveiled on Saturday night this weekend with a send-up of Gov. Palin's interview with Katie Couric. All it required was Tina Fey, who does a very convincing comic caricature of Palin, essentially espousing verbatim Palin's exact phrases from the interview. Hilarious but sad; Palin is living the Peter Principle. Enough said.

Last But Not Least: This is the most engrossing reality show on record as we watch our economy and politics explode, the Republican party implode and the Democratic party standing to bear the brunt of this economic disaster if Obama is elected. He will be blamed if the devastating outcomes of this debacle persist over the next 4 years and of course, it will be doubly damning because he is 1/2 a black man. Sad but true. At the end of the day, politics and fear aside, we all have to give ourselves a financial housekeeping. Plan for the worst and you will survive. The net effect of all of this is that decrease in consumer spending will kill our GDP splintering all industries and the credit card market will be next in line to send up its wave of bad debt. It does not look pretty out there. What were the economic terms that we had before "market correction?" Depression, recession, inflation? Think about McCain & Palin leading us through these times...try not to cringe while doing so.

A Few Words About the Presidential Debate

Going into the debate, there were certain inalienable truths. McCain is much better on foreign policy but not on the economy. Obama had much greater strength on the economy but not on foreign policy. In addition, he also had to show America that he was truly Presidential and hold his own alongside John McCain.

McCain was not able to fully convince us that his economic policy was sound; in fact after the charade of going to Washington to save the taxpayer from a debt worse than fate, he did nothing in this debate to comfort them. Obama showed a good grasp of foreign policy but more importantly he appeared confident and completely Presidential. For those not sure about voting for the black man, he sure gave them much to re-consider. Score this debate in favor of Obama.

Who Would Want to Lead This Country?

How is it that Sen. John McCain, a rich old white man from Arizona can command the same poll results as Sen. Barack Obama who is clearly promising us a different America? John McCain can be the same as George Bush and practically unoriginal but Barack Obama has to be the most extraordinary black man to even have a chance to be President.

How do Americans let the Republican party convince them that Barack Obama is elitist because he worked hard to attain the education that we routinely tell Americans will pave their way for a brighter future? Yet, John McCain, the son and grandson of Admirals who benefited from his military connections and his wife’s wealth, were it not for being a POW, gets a free pass from being labeled “privileged.”

After today’s antics with John McCain’s rush to Washington to be the hero of the proposed bailout plan, then watching the plan unravel under stress of a protest plan submitted by conservative house Republicans and the injection of Presidential politics – Barack Obama was compelled to be present - then not saying much but staking his appearance at tomorrow’s Presidential debate on an outcome coupled with Sarah Palin’s utterly unintelligible answers in her interview with Katie Couric, an interview where many of the questions were similar to those previously asked by Charlie Gibson, and she still did not have any good answers for, which clearly shows that she should not have been sequestered and should have been given the opportunity to practice and now appears to be undermined by a lack of confidence, and you have the recipe for campaign disaster. Thank goodness the campaign is run by Karl Rove acolytes; what will they pull out of their hat tomorrow?

On another note, with Washington Mutual (WAMU) seized by the FDIC this evening becoming the worst bank failure in U.S. history, underscores the urgency of some sort of bailout plan. Deciding on what avenue to take now seems to be the bane of Congress and the American people, none of us having the breadth of knowledge and understanding of complex financial instruments and how this all functions in today’s global economy, except Congress is supposed to go on recess tomorrow so they can all run home and campaign making a push for a decision tomorrow guaranteed to yield nothing less than disaster.

While the rest of the world is laughing at America, they are because if I didn’t witness this in real life, I would think that I was watching a movie; a satirical circus pageantry envelopes the most powerful country in the world while it attempts to choose the next leader of the free world and heal the economic calamities befalling it. An educated black man arises to save the people from ruin because the maniacal white man, who comes complete with the charming, but disarming, sidekick hailed as mavericks as they unleash their diabolical plan for world domination, finally and suddenly implode leaving trail of Republican destruction behind them.

Sadly, this is not a movie, this is the great meltdown of 2008. If you choose McCain-Pailn, you deserve your own stupidity and the boat you rode in on it or you choose Obama-Biden, who though better suited for the job, will face the greatest odds challenging a Presidency in the history of the nation with little margin for error. Good luck with that.

Bailout or Else: The GOP Politics of Fear in Full Swing Yet Again

Having now presided over the biggest economic collapse in recent history, George W. Bush and friends are out to convince the American people that the best and only solution is to hand over $700,000,000,000 to the Treasury Secretary to bail out Wall Street and that it should be done expeditiously and with as minimal oversight as possible. This Administration has perfected the Karl Rove politics of fear methods so completely and, unfortunately, so successfully that they have no qualms rolling it out whenever they need to force the hand of the American people.

Right now we are witnessing almost to the letter the same playbook used to rush us into war 6 years ago. Tonight the President spoke on television right before Congress is to go on break, like he did 6 years ago, giving us the old “act now or doom will befall you” speech. These same tactics were employed during Bush’s re-election campaign and are now being employed in more extreme fashion in John McCain’s campaign. So far, they have been successful at these methods even though the outcome has always been disastrous for the American people.

Though the Congress is trying more diligently this time around to mitigate the damage of hasty decision-making; this plan seems destined to come to fruition in some form albeit with greater restrictions. Why isn’t anyone else coming up with an alternative solution? Why is this expensive bailout the only way to bring order to the markets? While the GOP continues with their lies, fear and deceit, the American people are once again swept up into a situation where they are taken for a ride and this time around instead of fearing the GOP; they fear the intelligent black man who actually does want to help them.

Lies Lies and More Lies

The political stretching of the truth has become less of a game of word-play and innuendo and more of a sad tale of blatant telling and re-telling of outright lies. While Obama's team has utilizes the conventional method of truth stretching, the McCain campaign has resorted to outright lies. His VP pick came out of the gate lying and still has not stopped even though the lies have been debunked across most media outlets.

How does the populace of a country in a time of deep economic and ideological crisis continue to accept these lies without complete and utter outrage? It is mind boggling to say the least. John McCain's campaign is based on character and 'country first' yet he has resorted to the type of egregious lying that not only typically defames one's character but completely underscores one's personal desire to win at any cost thus undermining the whole 'country first' mantra.

If the rules of the game are that whoever tells the most lies, wins; what does that say about the American people's judgment when it comes to choosing a leader? Good judgment is also one of the traits that John McCain claims is the mark of a good leader. John McCain exhibited poor judgment in the methods used to select his VP and continues to exercise poor judgment by choosing to lie repeatedly on the campaign trail. Haven’t we had enough lies and deceit over the past 8 years?

Finally The Financial Truth Flows Through the Markets

The world-wide financial markets are in crisis right now. Wall Street investment banks are failing and/or scrambling to stay afloat either through a merger or cash infusion. The Dow lost 504.48 yesterday and 449.36 today; almost 1000 points in 2 days. Meanwhile markets in Russia, Asia and other parts of the world are hemorrhaging; Russia has had to halt trading over the last 2 days.

As you know, I knew these days were coming and I welcome them. We have to let the financial truth flow through the markets so we can figure out where we are so we can know where we have to go. All of the lies and propping up caused the market to disassociate from reality. The markets have been on a roller coaster ride this whole year because investors had no idea where to plant their feet. I have gone over all of this in previous posts.

I hope all of this fallout means we are getting closer to a financial reality based on the fundamentals. Yes things are terrible right now and I have always said that the market should reflect it. All we did was delay the inevitable; the government invested over $500,000,000,000 into trying to shore up the markets and it didn't help at all. Now investors are worried the government has over-extended itself.

I'd rather know the truth because knowledge is power; with the right information, we can find solutions. We have found them before and we will find them again. In the meantime, it is going to be terrible, I am not looking forward to going through any of it. At least we all know that we are in it together because that's all we have right now. We need to help each other as Americans first and people second.

All I can hope is that Americans do the right thing and elect the President that will bring us together. President Bush and the GOP have done nothing but divide Americans into nasty splinter groups blaming and re-blaming while they capitalize on our prejudicial weaknesses leaving us proving once again that there is truth in those unavoidable cliches:

UNITED WE STAND; DIVIDED WE FALL.

There is no way for McCain to bring us together and you all should know that by now. Do you really think he will inspire us to do anything? Ask yourselves deep down inside if lies, deception and downright nastiness is the way to help America. Obama will make mistakes, all Presidents do, but at least we will be United, something we have not been for a long, long, time.