President-Elect Barack Obama
today announced his economic
team.  His choice for Secretary
of the Treasury is Timothy
Geithner, the currently of the
New York branch of the
Federal Reserve.  To head
Obama's National Economic
Council in the White House is
Larry Summers, a former
Clintonite.  Christina Romer
will chair the Council of Eco-
nomic Advisors and Melody
Barnes will head the Domestic
Policy Council.

Obama promised to create or
'retain' 2.5 million jobs over the
next two years.  He is asking
that the new Congress have
a stimulus package ready for
him one Day One.  Obama
would not put a dollar price on
what he wants, but current
Democrats in Congress are
talking somewhere between
$500 to 700 Billion dollars.
Obama wants to focus on a
wide range of infrastructure
and alternative energy pro-
grams to create the new jobs.

Meanwhile, the current team
managing the economy made
moves over the weekend to
save CitiGroup, America's
largest bank.  The bank had
lost some 57% of it's stock
value last week.  Current
Treasury Secretary Hank
Paulson authorized some
$20 Billion to buy 8% of the
bank's preferred stock. He
and the FDIC also pledged
some additional $306 Billion
dollars to back-stop the banks
bad assets.  While this move
helped save CitiGroup, nobody
stepped in to save the other
three smaller, retail banks that
went bust last week.

During his press conference,
Obama would not say when or
how he will implement his tax
cuts, or raise tax rates on the
top 5%.  He also passed on
how he intends to pay for the
new stimulus package.  What
does seem all-too apparent
is that Washington is going on
a spending spree.  The projec-
tions for this fiscal year's bud-
get deficit (from October 1st)
will exceed $1.2 TRILLION
dollars, a third of what the
government takes in via tax
revenues.  And the tally is
far from over.

Already, the Treasury, FDIC
and Federal Reserve have
pumped some $3.5 Trillion
into the economy to date,
with commitments for another
$1.5 Trillion looming ahead.
While the auto companies
failed to get their bailout bucks
last week, there is little doubt
that they will get some when
Congress returns from the
holiday break.  Today, the
U.S. housing industry asked
for $250 Billion to shore up it's
debts.  Some analysts now say
that the totals for the whole
recovery package to the econo-
my will top $7 TRILLION!

There is one bright spot in all
this bad news.  The FDIC, run
by Shelia Bair, told a House
committee hearing last week
that great progress has been
made in revaluing the bad
mortgages resulting from the
collapse of IndyBanc.  Under
terms that the new mortgages
will not exceed 38% of the
incomes of the homeowners,
the FDIC has cleared up some
70% of those who were offered
to refinance.  She went to say
that a similar formula may be
applied to the 'toxic' mortgages
of Freddie Mac and Fannie
May.  So there may now actual-
ly be a genuine game plan for
resolving the $2 Trillion dollars
worth of bad mortgages held
by these institutions, which led
to the whole financial and credit
crisis we are now in.

As for Obama's appointees,
it should be kept in mind that
Geithner has already had his
hand 'on the throttle', and was
involved in the collapse of
Lehman Brothers as well as
the bailout for insurance giant,
AIG.  Neither of which can be
called successes.  Larry
Summers, who served as
Treasury Secretary during the
last 18 months of the Clinton
Administration, is a free trader
and understands the global
economy.  I am surprised that
Obama picked him since, as
president of Harvard, Summers
was 'run out of town' by NOW
and environmentalists after
some comments he had made.
He had said that men are more
willing than women to commit
the time demanded by high-
powered jobs as well as being
better in math, science and
engineering.  He had also
remarked that developed
countries should export their
pollution to developing ones.
LOL!!!  This guy's a hoot!

Christina Romer is another
potential diamond.  She has
written papers on how low
tax rates are better than high
ones for an economy. DUH!!!
She has also written that the
gold standard was NOT a
contributing factor in the
deflation of the dollar during
the Great Depression. Yeah!
She is from Berkley, so I
suppose we should be wary
of her, but so far, she passes
my 'smell tests'.  Melody
Barnes, on the other hand,
comes straight out from
left field.  As president of the
Center for American Progress,
about her only claim to fame
was once being noted as one
of the ten best dressed women
in Washington, DC.  LOL!

So far, the Obama cabinet will
be a mixed bag.  But there is
little doubt that government will
grow in size and power.  So
hold on to your wallets, things
will get very interesting very
soon!

We have had another fun week
of 'crazy-talk' in Washington,
DC.  For the past two days, our
hard working Congressmen
and Senators have been grill-
ing the CEOs of Detroit's Big
3 auto makers.  Ford, GM and
Chrysler came to Capitol Hill
seeking a $25 Billion dollar
"bridge loan" to keep them a-
float till the end of next year.
They promised that by 2010,
they would all have new, elec-
tric hybrid cars on the market to
compete against the other car
companies of the world.

It has been a bad year for the
Detroit-based corporations.  
While the first quarter looked
good, thanks to popular SUV
and truck sales, the spike in
gasoline prices, plus the credit
crunch, have put all three in
grave jeopardy.  General
Motors is in the worse shape,
burning through some $5
Billion dollars a month now in
cash reserves.  They are ex-
pected to run out of money
by the end of the year!

Congress had approved a
$25 Billion dollar loan back
in September to help them re-
tool their plants for produc-
ing the new hybrids.  But,
at the current 'burn rate' of
raw cash to keep afloat,
they claim they need more.
Without another $25 Billion,
one, or all three, could go
bankrupt, and it could mean
some additional 250,000
workers becoming unem-
ployed.  An additional
750,000 who work for auto
parts suppliers, plus nearly
a million who work for car
dealerships, could also be
unemployed.  Also effected
would be some 775,000
retirees and an additional
2 million people covered under
health insurance from the
auto makers.

Efforts in the Senate to get
a bill voted on Thursday have
come to naught.  The leaders
of the Democrats in the Senate
cannot muster the votes.  A
recent poll showed that some
74% of Americans are opposed
to bailing out the auto makers.
A like number were opposed to
the $700 Billion bailout for the
financial markets.  Senators
Harry Reid and Carl Levin had
stated late today that the ball
was now in the White House's
court.  Under the TARP bill,
they claim that Treasury Sec-
retary, Hank Paulson, has the
authority to dole $25 Billion
out of the TARP funds.  But
Paulson has made it clear that
he will not do so.  President
Bush will not do anything
either, other than request that
the original $25 Billion be expe-
dited.   A bipartisan committee
in the Senate is still working
out a scaled-down assistance
program of $8 to 10 Billion
dollars.

Harvard economist, Martin
Feldstein wrote in an op-ed
piece in Tuesday's Washington
Post, that the only real solution
for the Big 3 is to file Chapter
11 and reorganize.  On top of
his list of recommendations
is for renegotiating union con-
tracts.  Between paying some
40% more in hourly wages and
some $1200 more in benefits
above what companies like
Toyota and Honda pay their
American workers, the average
severance pay to a Big 3 auto
worker is roughly $105,000.
Faced with such overhead,
Feldstein argues that even if
Detroit was bailed out, and did
produce better cars, they still
could not compete in the long
run with foreign-based compe-
titors.  Another example is that
while Toyota only has some
1,000 dealerships nationwide,
GM has over 7,000, yet sells
about the same number of
cars annually.

Faced with such obstacles, it
does seem unlikely that even
if Detroit got the additional $25
Billion sought this week, it
would be enough to them in
business for very long.  Detroit
would probably need over four
times that amount just to retool
and survive through 2009,
which is expected to see a fur-
ther decline in overall sales.
Feldstein points out that
since the overall quality of
cars has improved, the new
car market will continue to
shrink domestically.  The
foreign-based companies
have also experienced a
decline in sales, especially
since July, but at a rate half
that of the Detroit firms.

Companies like Kia and
Hyundia have cars which
are significantly cheaper than
anything Detroit produces.
Honda and Toyota not only
beat Detroit in pricing, but
completely blow them away
with post-sale customer
service.  So any hope for the
Big 3 to rebound would require
a major overhaul from top to
bottom in their operations and
structure.  Such could only be
achieved quickly through a
Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Any way you slice it, Detroit
is in serious trouble.  As are the
communities in some 46 states
that also have production faci-
lities for the Big 3 and their
suppliers.  Many who are advo-
cating the bailout point to the
need for maintaining the firms
for national security purposes.
They point to how in World War
Two, the automobile manufac-
turing base was converted to
producing the armaments that
were needed to defeat Japan
and Germany.

However, given today's levels
of technology and spy satel-
lites, it would seem very un-
likely that history would repeat
itself.  A single B2 bomber can
attack, with great precision,
some 72 targets.  During the
Second World War, each
target would have required
hundreds of B-17 bombers to
do the same damage.  Any
aggressor nation that began
a major build-up of ground
forces would easily be seen
and would take enough time
for new factories to be built
here.  Germany's rearmament
took some six years before
they could attack Poland. The
largest American factories
built specifically to build wea-
pons, like B-29s or even the
massive Oak Ridge uranium
processing plants were con-
structed in less than two years.

While I am from Detroit, and
would feel the results of the
Big 3 failing, I have to say this.
They have been failing for
some 30+ years!  The Big 3
need to completely reorga-
nize if they have any hope for
surviving.  There is no doubt
in my mind that car companies
can function and produce cars
and be healthy and make
profits.  Most of the foreign-
based companies are doing
just that.  There is a new wave
of small, specialty vehicle ma-
nufacturers like SmartUSA.
A joint venture between
Mercedes Benz and Swatch,
the colorful Swiss watch
makers,  the SMARTcar is a
popular, inexpensive vehicle
sold worldwide.  Penske
Automotive builds and sells
the cars here in the USA.
The car is so popular, some
75,000 people are on a waiting
list to buy one.  One of GM's
best selling vehicles, the
Hummer, was originally built
by AM General in Indiana, a
spin-off from AMC's Jeep
division.  Dozens of other small
car companies have been
springing up across the country
building everything from pure
electric cars, alternative fuel
and hi-tech sports cars priced
in the hundreds of thousands
of dollars.

The Big 3 may find themselves
dying on the vine, but others
are ready to replace them.

My favorite Democrat, Ohio
Congressman Dennis
Kucinich, and others, grilled
Neel Kashkari thoroughly on
Friday.  During the Congres-
sional hearing on the financial
crisis, Kashkardi, the assistant
Treasury Secretary charged
with doling out the $700 Billion
of TARP money, made some
interesting statements.

For starters, he said that TARP
funds were not being allocated
to companies which were
deemed as at risk for failure.
Kucinich specifically wanted to
know why no money was being
given to National City Bank.
Upon hearing Kashkardi's
answer, Kuciniched remarked,
"That quote will follow you the
rest of your career."  LOL!  You
tell'em, Dennis!

Nearly all of the TARP money
has thus far been allocated to
some nine investments bank,
in exchange for stock.  This
was Treasury Secretary Hank
Paulson's idea for being the
best way to add liquidity into
the depressed credit market.
TARP was originally intended
for purchasing bad assets, in
the way of defaulting mort-
gages, being held by Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, as well
as mortgage 'traunches', bun-
dles of mortgages, deemed
as 'toxic', from other invest-
ment banks and holding firms.

Thus far, $250 Billion has gone
to buying stocks in the nine
'super-banks', like J.P. Morgan,
Goldman Sachs and others. An
additional $40 Billion of TARP
funds went to further shore up
insurance giant, A.I.G., which
so far this year has gotten
about $152 Billion from Uncle
Sugar.  Kucinich and others
also asked Kashkardi about
using TARP money for help-
ing the U.S. auto industry, but
his reply fell between vague
and negative.  Again, he does
not think that funding failing
companies is a wise use of
the funds.  He also told the
House panel that he was at
this time unaware if Secretary
Paulson would be asking for
the second half of the $700
Billion for TARP before the
end of the Bush Administra-
tion.

Speaking of which, Bush is
hosting a G20 summit this
weekend.  A number of
issues have been discussed
thus far.  It has been agreed
that no new trade barriers be
erected, which could foil any
plans by the in-coming Obama
Administration to renegotiate
NAFTA or other trade agree-
ments.  Also, it seems that
the remedy to the financial
crisis for now is to keep
throwing money at it.  Pro-
posed multi-national tax
reductions were dismissed,
along with extending the
authority of the IMF and the
World Bank to oversee all
nation's finances.  However,
China, Brazil, India and Saudi
Arabia will be given more
say in the operation of the
IMF and World Bank. New re-
gulations on such esoteric
markets, like derivatives and
credit default swaps will be
worked on.  The G20 will meet
again in April after Barack
Obama assumes the presiden-
cy.  At which time, more funda-
mental changes to the global
financial system may be decided upon.

China, which pumped some
$540 Billion into it's economy
this past week, also is in need
of stimulus.  For years, China
has had an average growth
rate of some 8%.  This rate is
not an accident, it was planned!
China requires such a high rate
of growth to meet the influx of
more surplus labor streaming
into the cities from it's rural
areas.  Without a high growth
rate, China would face political
turmoil from an unhappy popu-
lation.  With it's Number One
market, America, buying less
goods, China needed to help
bolster it's own economy, and
the future does not look like
bright and cheery should the
U.S. consumers continue to
consume less.

Happy Veteran's Day!!!  We
honor our living and fallen
heroes in many ways, as do
other nations.  This day was
chosen as it was on the 11th
hour, of the 11th day, of the
11th month, when The Great
War, World War One, ended.
An armistice was signed in
France, ending a brutality
which raged on for over four
years on an unprecedented
scale.

American’s entry into WWI
was late, but still, millions
of our young men went ‘over
there’ and many were killed
and wounded, including some
who fell victim to poison gas
weapons.  The carnage that
began in August of 1914 is
difficult to comprehend these
days.  It bled nations white
and toppled empires as the
bodies of the dead piled up
in the millions.  Individual
battles, like Verdun, cost
hundreds of thousands of
lives, with little to show for
the effort.

One of the few advantages of
living in the People’s Socialist
Republic of Michigan is being
able to watch the Canadian
Broadcasting Company, the
CBC.  Today, in Canada, they
celebrate Remembrance Day.
In many respects, it was WWI
which forged Canada into a
nation.  Before the Great War,
most people tended to think
of Canada as only a place
where beaver pelts and snow-
shoes came from.  Their
ceremony for Remembrance
Day is extremely beautiful
and full of pride.

Canada sent to Europe an all
volunteer, citizens army.  At
first, they were generally used
to supplement British military
forces.  During the 2nd Battle
at Ypres in 1915, Canadian
units distinguished themselves
in Flanders, and it was a
Canadian medical officer,
Lt. Colonel John McCrae, who
wrote the poem, “In Flanders
Field”, after watching his best
friend die from his wounds.

In 1917, the Canadian Corps,
while still attached to the
British Army, had more auto-
nomy under it’s own leaders.
The 1st Division was under
the command of Arthur Currie.
A school teacher and land
speculator in civilian life, he
took an intellectual approach
to his duties.  When ordered
to assault the strong German
defenses on Vimy Ridge in
France, Currie set about an
extensive training program for
his troops.

Unlike in previous battles, the
soldiers of Currie’s division were
well prepared.  He had maps and
battle orders issued to each man,
regardless of their rank.  Some-
thing unheard of before.  Currie’s
plan called for his troops to
advance behind a rolling artillery
barrage. The soldiers were trained
to walk at a specific rate, which
became known as ‘the Vimy
Glide’.  The combination of
these and other tactics proved
highly successful.  Currie’s
men overran the Germans and
captured the defenses and
advanced many miles with
nominal casualties.  Nearly
4,000 Canadians were killed,
relatively light compared to
losses in other, less success-
ful battles that would claim 4
times or more men.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge set
new standards in combat tac-
tics, and earned the Canadians
great respect from all, including
from the Germans.  By the end
of the war, Canada distinguish-
ed itself by having the best
overall record of any combat
force in terms of success on
the battlefield.  Currie was later
knighted by King George V
and was given command of
the entire Canadian Corps.

Today, it often seems that
holidays like Veteran’s Day
have devolved into excuses
for appliance and furniture
stores to have sales.  Our
ceremonies and parades, at
best, get 45 seconds worth
of mention during the evening
news.  So I find it a true plea-
sure to be able to watch a
moving, thoughtful, two-hour
ceremony, honoring those who
have defended freedom on a
national television broadcast,
live and complete.  Though an
American by birth, I appreciate
all those from around the world
who answered the call and put
their own bodies between
tyranny and liberty.  Thank you
to all veterans of all wars!

Barack Obama has been the
President-elect since Tues-
day night, and already, we
are beginning to get a taste
of what to expect from him.
His selection for Chief of
Staff, Rahm Emanual, shows
he wants a well-disciplined,
tight organization.  Emanual
is also hardly a sign of any
bipartisan approach to the
way Obama will govern. His
choice also sends a signal
to the Democratic leaders on
Capitol Hill to 'watch their
step'.  

Another major sign of what
is coming can be found on
the transition team website,
http://change.gov.  There is
a long laundry list of the pro-
grams and new policies that
the Obama Administration will
be pushing, most likely in the
first months.  A new stimulus
package (which Obama would
rather Bush initiate), mortgage
relief, credit card relief, jobs
programs, student subsidies,
etc., the list goes on and on.

Finally, Obama gave his first
press conference on Friday.
As he did before in previous
'pressers', it was late and short.
He only answered a few ques-
tions, including on silly things
like what puppy he'll buy for
his children.  Obama even took
the time to levy a cheap shot
at Nancy Reagan about com-
muning with the dead, despite
the fact that it was Hillary who
talked about having séances
for Eleanor Roosevelt.  The
only question asked of sub-
stance, concerning tax rates
for the wealthy, Obama glided
by without an answer.  But his
opening remarks were enough
to indicate that the budget defi-
cit would be blown sky-high.

Already, this year’s deficit will
easily exceed a Trillion dollars!
Adding up all the current bail-
outs, plus potential new ones
for the auto industry, some 35
states and dozens of cities, all
clamoring for cash, on top of
the estimated $850 Billion for
Obama’s new programs, who
knows where next year’s defi-
cit will come in at?  $2 Trillion?

With all this new money being
pumped into the system, one
wonders the impact it will have
on the U.S. dollar?  Obama
stated Friday he wants a strong
dollar.  Oh really?  How will he
pull that off and still pay for
everything?  Some analysts
predict the dollar may collapse
by next summer.  Some even
say before the end of this year!

The implications of a dollar col-
lapse are serious.  One may
wonder why it is not currently?
Indeed, the dollar has actually
strengthened the past few
weeks, despite the financial
meltdown.  The reasons why
are simple.  First, banks and
other companies are hoarding
cash.  It is not circulating, yet.
Much of the money allocated
from the bailouts is being held
on to by the large investment
banks.  The top nine are esti-
mated to be sitting on over
$400 Billion worth of cash right
now.  The second major rea-
son why the dollar is staying
strong, for the moment, is that
other world currencies are get-
ting hit hard, too.  The crisis is
effecting Europe and Asia in
harsh, but different ways.

Another major reason is that
up until October, consumer
confidence in the U.S. was still
reasonably strong.  Retail sales
were still going well, and since
most of what U.S. consumers
buy is from overseas, a big
trade imbalance is actually a
good thing for the dollar.  But
that may no longer be the case
in the upcoming months. We
are already seeing the signs of
a slow down in retail sales, as
well as the sharp drop in oil
prices.  Consumers are cutting
back.

Starting last summer, Asia, and
primarily China, had begun a
policy of diversifying it’s cash
reserves away from Yankee
dollars.  In 2007, it dumped
some $300 Billion.  By July of
this year, over $1.2 Trillion
was used to buy non-dollar
holdings, especially gold.
India is leading the way in
gold purchasing, more than
1300 tons this year!  With
20% of the world’s popula-
tion, India now has nearly
20% of all the mined gold,
making them #1 in gold
reserves, over 25,000 tons
of the precious metal!  The
United States, in comparison,
has roughly 14,000 tons.

When people speak of a col-
lapse of the dollar, the classic
definition is a depreciation of
about 20% in a single year.
This does not mean that our
rate of inflation will be 20%
But it would not be pretty.
For example, when the Peso
collapsed in 1995, by about
50%, Mexico’s rate of infla-
tion hit about 35%.  Some
analysts are predicting, based
on the amounts of new cash
being pumped into the system,
that by next summer, the U.S.
dollar could fall as much as
40% in current value.  

The implications of such an
event are the following;
1)  Prices go up, consump-
tion declines.  Higher unem-
ployment dues to less goods
and services being used.
2)  The nation’s debt load
is financed by short-term
T-bills, mainly bought by
overseas trading partners,
like China and Saudi Arabia.
With less consumption in
the U.S., there will be less
purchasing of our debt from
overseas.  This will force our
governments (Federal, state
and local) to reduce services
and raise taxes.

During the Great Depression,
the economy declined but the
dollar actually remained rela-
tively strong.  It was still backed
by gold, plus the Federal debt
was low enough where FDR
could get away with running
the printing presses.  Neither
is the case today.

Obama and the Democrats in
Congress will be gambling
come 2009.  They may believe
that by pumping enough cash
into the system quickly, they
can get consumers spending
and the game floating long
enough for confidence in both
domestic and foreign investors
to buy more debt.  But given
the trends of the past year and
a half, that seems very unlikely.

The other chance of hope is
that at next year’s G8 meeting
in Italy, a serious discussion
on reforming the world’s
currency systems will take
place.  A number of Euro-
pean finance ministers are
already calling for the G8
meeting to be a Bretton Woods
Part 2.  It was at the 1944
Bretton Woods meeting where
our current financial system
was devised.  There are many
who feel it is high-time to no
longer tie the dollar to the
world’s currencies, or to oil.
This would be bad for the
United States, initially, but
would have the effect of de-
fining a bottom.

Other economists are also
talking more openly about a
revaluation of currency and
the current debt load.  This
would be a very dramatic
event.  Even a modest ad-
justment in central bank
policy on how interest rates
are set would have major
implications.  Unfortunately,
in the short-term, this means
that those who thought that
markets may begin to re-
bound after the elections may
have to wait until after the
July, 2009 meeting until some
certainty is restored.

Barack Obama is now the
President-Elect.  He won a
tough campaign, earning
52% of the popular vote to
John McCain's 46%.  Roughly
62 million to 55 million.  On the
electoral college map, the only
map that truly counts, Obama,
thus far, has 349 to McCain's
162.  McCain has a slight edge
in Missouri and Obama a thin
lead in North Carolina. So the
final tally will probably be 364
to 173.

How did Obama win?  He won
thanks to a well organized
ground game and the crash
of the markets in mid-Septem-
ber.  For 63% of those who
voted, the economy was their
deciding issue.  93% of all of
those who voted think the eco-
nomy is bad, and 85% are
worried about it.  Obama also
benefited greatly from having
the entire Main Stream Media
is the tank for him very early
on.  Without their help in sup-
pressing issues about his
past, as well as who he is now,
Hillary Clinton would have won
the nomination.

Why did McCain lose?  The 8
years of George W Bush,
Dick Cheney and Karl Rove
did not help.  Nor the casting
off of the Congressional Re-
publicans of the principles of
smaller, limited government.
Add to these ideological rea-
sons, an unpopular war in
Iraq.  But McCain also has
himself to blame for losing,
and he was man enough to
accept that responsibility
during his concession speech.

McCain was leading in the polls
up until the economy tanked.
During that first week, especial-
ly the first 24 hours, he blew it.
His message was somewhere
between wrong and confused.
He might have been able to
recover the fumble had he ac-
tually done something when
he suspended his campaign
and returned to Washington.
Had he gone Maverick and
went against the bailout, he
might have tapped into the
general mood of the country
which was upset with the Wall
Street bailout.

From that point forward, his
message was in a constant
state of flux.  With the clock
rapidly ticking down, McCain
lost any credibility with any
economic issues.  If it had
not been for Joe the Plumber,
McCain probably would have
lost the election by 10% or
more, and put Obama over
the 400 mark for the electoral
map, a sign of a true landslide.

While some may argue the
technical definitions of a land-
slide victory, I do not believe
that the 2008 election will
qualify.  Obama won by very
narrow margins in many key
states.  Furthermore, his win
does not mean that the con-
servative movement has died.

In Florida, where Obama won
by about 200,000 votes, rough-
ly 1.5%, a law designating that
"marriage" is ONLY between a
man and a woman easily pass-
ed.  In California, a state that
was an easy win for Obama,
there too, a ban on gay marri-
age is very tight and still being
tallied. Such bread-and-butter
issues which lie at the heart of
the conservative movement
remain strong.

America wanted change and
now it has it.  Over 125 million
people voted, many spending
2 to 8 hours standing in line
to cast their ballots.  Yesterday
was democracy in action,
something we should all be
proud of.  And yes, even the
cynics must now agree that
Obama's victory is a defining
moment in America's history.
That we are indeed a nation
that is a great melting pot of
peoples and ideas.  That any
individual can achieve their
dreams and goals.

Obama will get a longer honey-
moon than most presidents.
Most voters accept the fact
that taxes will go up and there
may be other consequences
to his election.  The real ques-
tion now is how will he han-
dle his first major crisis?
Will he compromise many
of his more left-leaning
agendas to get what every
politician wants, to be re-
elected?  Just how much
change will there truly be?
In many observers eyes,
Obama was actually much
closer to George Bush's
policies than McCain was.
How will that irony play out?

Can John McCain still win
the election?  With only 2
short days left to go, it may
seem highly unlikely.  But
that is what Barack Obama
is counting on.

The past two week have not
been very good ones for
Obama.  Joe the Plumber has
given McCain a clearer mes-
sage to distinguish himself
from Obama, and even Bush.
Tito the Builder has now also
joined ranks, comparing tax
policies of Obama, and other
programs and behavior, to
those of Venezuela's Hugo
Chavez, and old pal of Bill
Ayers, Obama's Chicago
neighbor and sponsor.

Joe Biden gaffed that Obama
would be tested in an inter-
national crisis in the first six
months.  He also gaffed on
who will be subjected to the
Obama tax increases.  That
seems to be a real problem
as Bill Richarson and even
Obama himself cannot stick
to a single number.  It keeps
changing day-to-day.  The
simple fact that Obama will
repeal the Bush tax cuts
means everyone's taxes will
go up, even those earning
as little as $20,000 a year.

And then there are media
issues.  Biden's performance
on a TV station in Orlando,
Florida caused that station to
be black-balled by Obama's
campaign.  This week, three
reporters from newspapers
which endorsed McCain
have been booted off the
great one's jet to make room
for friendly fluff magazines.

The Los Angeles Times did
not help matters when the
story broke that they have
had a videotape of a 2003
going-away party honoring
Rashid Khalidi, who was
leaving Chicago for a new
job at Columbia University.
Khalidi was once the PR
man for the PLO back when
they were a terrorist organi-
zation (like they aren't now)
and attending the party
were Barack and Michelle
Obama, Bill Ayers and his
former-terrorist wife,
Bernadine Dohrn, as well
as other Chicago-based
Jew-haters.  The L.A. Times
refuses to release the tape
or a transcript of what was
said during the testimonials.
It should be also noted that
it was Khalidi who arranged
for Iranian president,
Ahmedinejad, to appear at
Columbia and deliver a
hate-filled speech.

More news on Ayers popped
up this week when another
book he co-wrote with his
wife, "Prairie Fire" back in
1974 turns out to be dedi-
cated to numerous radicals
and killers, like Sirhan
Sirhan, the assassin to
killed Robert F. Kennedy.
One has to wonder how
Ted and Caroline feel now
about supporting Barack
Obama for president?

On top of all of these so-
called side-issues, Obama's
big primetime infomercial
was a snoozer.  Most of it
dealt with showing how
awful America is.  A new
campaign ad takes a cheap
shot at Sarah Palin, which
has had some unexpected
results.

Several women within the
Obama campaign have
begun to blog about their
experiences and decisions
to not vote for Obama. One
such lady, who's post ap-
peared at redstate.com
and caused the website to
be assaulted made some
interesting points.  She
claims that their internal
polling shows that 25% of
Hillary supporters are
voting for McCain.  40% in
Pennsylvania!  She goes
on to say that the campaign
is worried about losing
there, as well as in Iowa
and other states thought
to be solidly for Obama.
Another cause for concern
is that nearly 80% of those
called during polling refuse
to answer.  One would think
if they are proud Obama
voters, they would gladly
reveal such.  There appear
to still, at this date, some
9-14% undecided, which
would trend more so to
McCain than Obama if they
were to vote.  The youth vote
has not been turning out in
any great numbers either,
and in Nevada and New
Mexico, Hispanics are also
shying away from Obama.

She, as well as another for-
mer staffer, Wendy Buttons,
have also stated their dis-
pleasure about the way
Obama went after Hillary
and now Palin.  They both
confirm what we have known
all along, that the Main
Stream Media has been in
the tank for Obama since
the beginning.   They are
deliberately manipulating
the public into believing
that the race is all but over
and Obama won this race
weeks ago.

On Thursday night's episode
of PBS, "Charlie Rose" guest
Tom Brokaw of NBC News
admitted that very little on
Barack Obama is known or
has been reported.  Brokaw
told Rose he does not know
how Obama would handle
China or other nations, nor
does he know what Obama's
philosophical base is.  He
could not even tell Charlie
what books Obama reads or
which one have influenced
him.  LOL!  How about Ayers'
book, "Prairie Fire"???

It is remarkable that at a time
when this nation faces chal-
lenges ranging from wars to
economic disasters that we
are about to vote with the
choices we have.  I am no
big fan of John McCain, but
compared to the hollow shell
and mystery of Barack Obama,
what rational choice do we have?

People who support Obama
believe that he will help them
and the nation as a whole.
Keep in mind that this guy
does not even help his own
family members, like his
step-brother in Kenya who
exists on $12 a year nor his
aunt who lives in a slum in
Boston!  Obama claims he
did not even know his aunt
was in Boston for the past
five years!  This, despite the
fact that he wrote about her
extensively in his autobio-
graphy, "Dreams From My
Father".  How can Obama
care about America when he
does not even care about his
own family?

Yes, the past two weeks
have been rough ones for
Obama.  And, YES, John
McCain can still win this
election.  Reports show
that this year will have a
record turn out, perhaps
over 130 million voters
casting ballots.  With so
many voting, with so much
at stake, it is impossible
for anyone to call this
election over.  We will pro-
bably not know the outcome
until sometime Wednesday,
and even that may be mud-
dled by problems and court
cases.

If ever there was an election
to vote in, this one is it!  SO
PLEASE VOTE ON TUESDAY
NOVEMBER 4TH!!!  Make your
voice heard, while you
still have one!

Former GE CEO, Jack Welch,
appeared this morning on
Fox and Friends.  Welch de-
clared that all of the side
issues about Barack Obama,
his past associations, sup-
ressed videos by the L.A.
Times, and other facts are
all irrelevant.  This election
comes down to one thing,
JOBS!

Welch refers to a recent
article in the New York
Times about economic
hardship in Rhode Island.
Several people were fea-
tured about their struggles.
Much like those shown in
the Obama infomercial of
last night.  But Welch then
points out that the Times
article failed to connect
the economic problems in
Rhode Island with their
tax policy.

Rhode Island ranks 48th
in best states to do business
in.  My state, Michigan, is
49th!  LOL!!!  Why do these
states suck?  Taxes, unions,
and regulations!  Who wants
to start or run a business in
a place that is hostile to-
wards those who want to be
productive?  The answer is
simple... NOBODY.

Most new businesses going
to states like Rhode Island
and Michigan are those with
twenty or fewer employees,
deliberating staying small to
skirt laws imposed on com-
panies with 25 or more em-
ployees.  Larger corpora-
tions ONLY relocate to such
states when they have
secured a sweetheart deal
in tax breaks and exemp-
tions to laws.

Welch argues that the tax
policies of Obama will have
the same effect nationwide.
Sure, many CEOs have
jumped onboard the Obama
bandwagon.  Have they al-
ready cut deals for favorable
treatment?  Obama intends
to raise taxes on corpora-
tions, despite the fact that
America ranks second in
corporate tax rates behind
only Japan.  He also pro-
mises to increase capital
gains taxes.  This, at a time
when people are already
losing money in their invest-
ments.  Such money is the
fuel for our credit markets
which keep consumer and
commercial loans flowing.

Obama claims he will give
companies a $3,000 tax
credit for each new employ-
ee they hire.  Somehow, I,
and Jack Welch, do not see
that as sufficient incentive
for companies to hire more
workers.  In a time where
such companies are look-
ing to reduce costs to sur-
vive, hiring more people
is the last thing they will
do, especially with such a
puny credit.

Recent polls show the race
tightening nationwide, as
well as in many swing states.
A new Rasmussen poll re-
leased today taken between
Oct. 28-29 shows that on
taxes, McCain is now trusted
slightly more than Obama.
It would appear that the
messages of Joe the Plum-
ber and even Tito the Buil-
der are now resonating.
Is it too little, too late?

Early voting in several key
states, like Florida and
Nevada, show that the much
vaunted youth vote is run-
ning at or less than normal.
In Nevada, early votes are
running nearly dead even
between Republicans and
Democrats.  In Florida, the
Republicans appear to be
turning out in larger num-
bers!  

People generally vote their
pocketbooks.  And what
they are apparently doing
is questioning just how
much Obama will take from
them?  Over the past week,
the goal line keeps moving
around as to who Obama
is intending to tax.  He and
Joe Biden have quoted
everything from $250,000
a year per family to $150,000
a year.  Last night, on his
infomercial, Obama said
families earning $200,000 a
year.  

Another major factor now is
the realization that if Obama
gets elected, as well as the
Democrats increasing their
holds in both wings of the
Congress, an extreme liberal
agenda could be executed.
Already, some are talking
about either taxing, or even
confiscating people's 401K
retirement plans!  Senator
Harry Reid is also planning
to reinstate a ban on off-
shore drilling, which will
impact future oil prices.

The Democrats seem to be
reverting back to their true
ambitions, to expand the
size and power of govern-
ment.  Tax enact wealth
redistribution, penalizing
producers and increasing
costs and prices to all. It
is a recipe for higher un-
employment and more
economic misery.

We already appear to be
on the verge of national-
izing key elements of our
financial institutions. What
is next?  Health care?  Oil
production?  Agriculture?
Manufacturing?  The
Democrats are preparing
to carry out the objectives
of Marxism, to seize the
"Commanding Heights"
of our economy.

Will the remaining days
before November 4th
be enough for Americans
to wake up from the hypno-
tic influence of Obama?
Will they come to realize
that our very liberty may
be voted away?  That we
face becoming a banana
republic, led by a cult of
personality?  Stay tuned,
folks!

Former Deputy Attorney
General of the state of
Pennsylvania, Philip Berg,
has been handed a blow
by Judge R, Barclay
Surrick.  Berg filed papers
in Philadelphia's Federal
Courts back on August 21
for a civil suit against the
DNC and Barack Obama.
It is Berg's opinion that
Barack Obama is not
qualified to serve as the
President of the United
States.  You have probably
not heard of this story, as
the Main Stream Media
has suppressed it.  But
it is real and in process
of being resolved.

Berg's arguments are two-
fold.  First, he cites reports
that Obama's Kenyan grand-
mother has verbally claimed
to have been witness to his
being born in Kenya!  Berg
claims to have recordings of
her saying as much.  Berg's
second objection is focused
on whether or not Obama
was adopted by his mother's
second husband Lolo
Soetoro, and therefore was
for a time an Indonesian
citizen.

This second circumstance
would mean that either
Obama is a naturalized
citizen, if he was properly
processed through Immi-
gration, and still ineligible
to serve as president under
the Natural Born Citizen
Clause, or is in fact an
illegal alien, and therefore
ineligible to even serve as
a U.S. Senator!    Berg cites
a school document from
when Obama lived in Indo-
nesia, showing him to be
using the name, Barry
Soetoro, as well as Obama's
trip to Pakistan which he
admits to making in his
autobiography, "Dreams
From My Father".  In 1981,
Obama would not have been
allowed to enter Pakistan
with a U.S. passport, which
begs the question, did he
use an Indonesian passport
for his trip?

Judge Surrick has dismissed
Berg's case today, 10/25/08,
issuing a 34-page document
which can be read at Berg's
website, obamacrimes.com.
While the judge did not seem
all that impressed with the
evidence Berg presented, his
Hon. Surrick's reason for the
dismissal is based on the
premise of whether or not
Berg has the 'standing' to
sue Obama and the DNC.
He explains the question is
who would have a personal
stake in the matter?  Is Berg
an injured party? Did those
being sued injure the plain-
tiff?  And would adjudication
of the matter actually provide
any redress to the plaintiff?

Berg's basis for injury-in-fact
is that by allowing Obama to
run for president, Obama
and the DNC are risking
voter disenfranchisement
and that should Obama win,
risk a Constitutional crisis
for the nation.  Surrick
writes that the harm cited
by Berg, "...is too vague
and it's effects too attenu-
ated to confer standing on
any and all voters."  Surrick
goes on to say that in his
opinion, only Congress
can determine whether
citizens, voters or party
members can police the
Constitution's eligibilty
requirements for the office
of the Presidency.  

Surrick compared Berg's
lawsuit to a similar one
filed earlier this year by
Fred Hollander against
John McCain.  McCain was
born in the Panama Canal
Zone and Hollander con-
tested his eligibility as being
not a natural born citizen.
But in McCain's case, he
was born at a U.S. Navy
hospital and both of his
parents were natural born
citizens.  Unlike Obama,
who's father was not born
in the United States and
was not naturalized.
There is also a more esoteric
legal issue, stemming from
a 1940 law defining natural
born, which was still in effect
in 1961 when Obama was
born.  As Hawaii had been a
U.S. territory, some would
argue that Obama's mother
would only be considered
natural born after she had
resided in Hawaii for some
five years after it had be-
come a 'state'.  But she,
and Barack, left before
meeting that requirement
when she married Soetoro.

Berg's lawsuit required that
Obama produce a birth cer-
tificate, proving his status.
Obama has yet to do so.
A copy of a certificate of
"live birth" was posted on
the Obama website and a
similar document that also
had a seal imprint at
Factcheck.org.  However,
such a document is not
the same as a true birth
certificate.  Also, Berg had
both analyzed and claims
that both are forgeries,
and were originally docu-
ments for Obama's step-
sister, Maya.  Which raises
another issue as Maya was
born in Indonesia!

Berg is undaunted by today's
setback.  He will be filing an
appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court.  "The question of who
has standing to stand up for
the Constitution", Berg said.
"If I don't have standing, if
you don't have standing, if
your neighbor doesn't have
standing to ask whether or
not the likely next president
of the United States -- the
most powerful man in the
entire world -- is eligible to
be in that office in the first
place, then who does."

Some speculate that the
recent trip Obama made
to Hawaii had more to do
with the Berg lawsuit than
with visiting his maternal
grandmother.  She was
reported to be gravely ill
after breaking her hip.
But Obama did not imme-
diately fly to her bedside.
While he claimed that he
would "rush to her side".
he was rushing for some
FOUR DAYS before he
finally boarded a jet!  Also,
if she was truly in such a
condition, one would think
that Obama would go to
her along with his wife and
children?  But Michelle con-
tinued to make campaign
stump speeches instead.

Berg has been seeking for
Obama to release all rele-
vent documents on his
citizenship, including his
school records as well as
those involved in admis-
sion to the universities he
attended.  Berg believes
that Obama may have used
his status as an Indonesian
to obtain funds and interna-
tional student privileges.
An attempt by Obama and
the DNC to have the case
dismissed was rejected by
Judge Surrick earlier, which
could explain why Obama
felt the need to return to
Hawaii to obtain a birth
certificate, or cover up the
lack of one.

Under Indonesian law at the
time, only way Obama would
have been able to attend the
school he went to was if he
was either adopted, or recog-
nized by Lolo Soetoro as his
son.  A copy of his school
enrollment record is also at
Berg's website, showing
Obama to be Barry Soetoro
and his religion listed as
Muslim.  Under Islamic law,
the son is automatically con-
sidered Muslim if the father
is such.  In both cases, either
Lolo Soetoro and Barack
Hussein Obama Sr were
Muslim.  I have stated that
my personal opinion is that
Barack Jr probably followed
his mother's inclinations and
was raised as an atheist.  So
his religious convictions are
not the issue here.  The is-
sue is his nationality!

Berg, a life-long Democrat,
also named the DNC in his
lawsuit as a co-defendant.
He believes that it was the
responsibility of the DNC to
determine Obama's eligibility
prior to the Democratic con-
vention in Denver.  Berg
says that DNC Chairman
Howard Dean should have
confronted Obama and veri-
fied Obama's eligibility be-
fore being named the party's
nominee.  Berg goes on to
say that he first began hear-
ing of the eligibility issue in
2007, before the primary sea-
son had begun.  That the
Republicans had investiga-
tors in Kenya and Indone-
sia looking into Obama's
background.

Berg also said during an
interview on the Mike
Savage Show on 10/23/08
that he spoke with a baris-
ter from England who
claimed to have contacts
within the British govern-
ment and the FBI and CIA
in the United States, all of
whom believe that Obama
is ineligible to serve as
president due to these
citizenship issues.  That
most of the European
nations believe likewise.
Berg speculates that the
Republicans will launch
an "October Surprise"
ad raising the citizenship
issue the final week of
the campaign.  Berg also
points out that while the
election is on Nov. 4th,
should Obama win, he
must still be ratified by
the Electoral College in
late December, and does
take the oath till Jan. 20,
2009.  Berg hopes that the
Supreme Court will hear
and rule on his lawsuit
before then.

With only 13 full days left to
go before election day, the
Obama campaign is pulling
out all the stops.  They plan
to spend some $100 million
dollars this week alone in
TV advertising.  McCain,
who opted for public funding,
will be lagging way behind.
Their only advantage it seems
is Joe the Plumber and the
true nature of Obama’s tax
and spending policies.

Joe Biden added another as-
pect this week, predicting that
should his boss, Obama, get
himself elected, there will un-
doubtedly be an international
crisis of some sort designed to
test Obama's metal.  Great!
Just what we need!  Take your
pick as to who and what may
occur?  Russia, China, India,
Pakistan, Iran, Venezuela, or
our old friends, Al Qaeda.  We
have not heard much from
them lately, though recent
posts at websites hint that they
may be planning for something
against us after the elections.

Obama's fitness and judgment
to lead our nation as been a
quiet issue.  The Main Stream
Media won't touch it at all.
When others do, they are de-
nounced as anything between
petty to racist.  There is plenty
to question.

His past associations have
been hashed over with seem-
ingly little effect on the general
population.  His recent revela-
tions on his tax and spending
policies do seem to have hit
a nerve.  Especially after Joe
the Plumber got Obama to
speak the truth for once. We
also had Barney Frank say
today that the proposed new
stimulus package, which will
hand out some $300 Billion
dollars to everyone, even those
who pay no income taxes, is
a good thing, despite it's im-
pact on the budget deficit.

Even Federal Reserve Chair-
man, Ben Bernanke, now
seems comfortable with the
idea of the first TRILLION
dollar budget deficit in history.
Frank says we can always tax
people later to make up for
the shortfalls.  When?  After
he and Obama are out of
office?  We've been able to
carry the huge debt we have
now thanks to the low interest
paid out on Treasury notes.
That could easily change,
especially if inflation rears it's
ugly head, which will happen
if we keep throwing money
at every problem.

Obama seems content with
trying to buy the election with
his promises of easy money.
That fact that he'll need to
rob somebody to pay for it
down the road is of no con-
cern to him.  Just as it is of
no concern that groups like
ACORN are actively engaged
in helping him steal the elec-
tion with vote fraud.

Why should this bother Obama
is a good question to ask about
his fitness and judgment.  Let
us look back at how he stole
the nomination from Hillary
Clinton.  Yes, that's right!
STOLE!!!

If you have not heard about the
widespread voter fraud during
the Democratic primaries, you
have to ask why?  Why did the
MSM cover it up?  It was bad
enough that Obama played
fast and loose with the rules
to prevent Michigan and
Florida from counting sooner
when it would have made a
significant difference.

To get part of the untold story
of how Obama stole the nomi-
nation, you must search You-
Tube for the documentary,
"We Will Not Be Silenced".
This link will take you to
Part One of a four-part
video.  You will learn about
all of the tactics used by
Obama supporters in the
caucuses and primaries
held earlier this year.

Voters denied access to polls
by thugs.  Voters lied to about
being counted.  False ballot
sheets being submitted by
Obama supporters.  School
children being bused to
polls and told how to vote.
People being shouted down
and intimidated at caucuses.

The list goes on and on.  From
Iowa to Indiana, Obama and
his supporters used a wide
range of tricks and tactics to
steal the election.  It is quite
obvious from the recent stories
about ACORN that they played
a role in that process as well.
It is obvious that they and the
Obama campaign are fully
prepared to steal the Novem-
ber election, too.

Barack Obama may regret the
day he ventured to Toledo, OH
and met up with Joe, The Plum-
ber, Wurzelbacher.  Since
Obama was for once honest,
and slipped-up describing his
tax plan as "spread the wealth
around", the polls have been
tightening nationwide.  People
now see that all of Obama's
plans and policies may have a
negative effect on the economy.

For starters, Obama keeps on
promising to lower taxes for 95%
of Americans.  The problem is,
the lower 30% of wage earners
pay no income tax at all.  All of
their money is refunded.  Ano-
ther 10% can pretty much get
it all back now, if they file the
right forms and have legitimate
tax deductions.  So this begs
the question, what 95% is he
talking about?  What taxes is
he going to lower?  No specifics
are ever offered.  His website
has a simplistic 'tax calculator'
but no formulas or details to
back up the results.

The top 5% of income earners
pay roughly 40% of all tax
revenue the government current-
ly takes in.  In history, every
time that taxes are increased,
less revenue is collected by
the government.  Every time
that taxes are lowered, more
is collected.  Taxing people
less stimulates the economy.
People spend more, save more
and invest more.  If Obama
truly wanted to "spread the
wealth around", he should cut
tax rates across the board,
including capital gains taxes.

The other side of the coin is
Obama's proposed spending
programs.  His promises for
all of the various programs he
wants to execute has a price
tag of about $850 Billion dollars.
He claims that his spending
increases will be off-set and
not bloat the budget deficit any
further.  But his only answer
when asked how is his drum-
beat about how we won't be
spending $10 Billion dollars a
month in Iraq.

Currently, Uncle Sugar spends
about $300 Billion dollars per
month.  September and October
will balloon this number as we
have shelled out some $455
Billion dollars for the various
bail-out programs to shore up
the nation's financial system.
That does not include the big
bail out program of $700 Billion
which is expected to dole out
money at a rate of an addition-
al $50 Billion per month.

If Obama wins and has his way,
that will add another $70.8
Billion per month on an average.
Somehow, I do not see where
saving $10 Billion from the Iraq
War translates into balancing
out $70.8 Billion???  Must be
some new form of math Obama
learned at Harvard!  LOL!

The budget deficit was already
pushing the $438 Billion mark
for this year BEFORE all of the
bail-out money began flowing.
If the economy continues to
tank, and Obama's tax policy
reduces revenue, we will easily
be topping the $500 Billion
mark in 2009 and beyond.
Even before Obama gets him-
self elected, tax revenue from
both corporate and individual
sources declined in September
as the economy slowed.

The National Debt is projected
to be close to some $11.25
TRILLION dollars after all of
the bail-out money is pumped
into the economy.  According
to the Congressional Budget
Office, in 2007, our Gross
Domestic Product was about
$13.8 Trillion dollars.  Mind
you, despite the Evil George
Bush mismanaging the econo-
my, we still had 2.0% GROWTH
in 2007!!!

For 2008, the CBO forecast
was for the GDP to come in at
about $14.3 Trillion, but that
projection seems unlikely now.
If the CBO's numbers prove to
be correct, the National Debt
will be about 72% of the GDP,
up from 66% last year.  Add
in the bail outs, and we push
the number to 78% of GDP!
Four years of Obama could
easily push us to nearly the
100% mark.  Maybe more, as
MediCare, MediAid and Social
Security outlays increase.

Your "fair share" of the Debt
was a modest $26,879 in
2007.  Without the bail outs,
it will easily close in on the
$30,000 mark in 2008, and
exceed that counting the bail
outs.  If you ask me, we are
already spreading plenty of
our wealth around now as it is!
We do not need Barack Obama
to take more of our money and
spend it as he pleases.  The
Democrats are already planning
another stimulus package of
about $300 Billion dollars to
dole out more checks after the
election.  Nice how they want to
bribe us with our own money!

The third and final presiden-tial debate took place this evening at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York.
CBS anchor Bob Schieffer
moderated the festivities
which had all three gentle-men seated a table.

Once again, there was no clear winner.  Both Obama and McCain accomplished their individual objectives.  For Obama, he continued to perform smoothly and calmly to appear presidential.  For McCain, to not make any serious errors and appear engaged.

Eight topics were discussed, beginning with the economy.  Obama still is trying to pro-mote his tax plan which he says will lower taxes for 95% of Americans despite the fact that over 30% pay no income tax currently.  While McCain did not score any points on this, he did take on Obama’s desire to raise taxes on small businesses.

The real star of the evening was Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Toledo, Ohio.  On Monday during a cam-paign stop, Obama talked with Joe, who questioned how Obama’s tax policies would effect his ambition to buy the company he works for.  Obama’s answer was that it was time to spread the wealth around, which Joe took to mean Obama wanted to spread HIS money around!  And he would be correct in that assessment!

McCain told Joe and the rest of America that he would not raise taxes on anyone.  He went on to mention Joe some 15 times during the debate on nearly every topic touched.  Obama only men-tioned Joe five times.  LOL!

The budget deficits was the next topic of discussion.  Obama mentioned how we are borrowing money from China to pay the Saudis for our oil.  Despite that being false, Obama seems to think that the Federal government is the one buying the oil America uses.  Maybe this is why later in the debate, McCain referred to Obama as “Senator Government”, since Obama seems to think that government does every-thing.

The truth is that the Federal government is funding the deficit by borrowing from China, Japan AND Saudi Arabia!  As well as from other nations!  The money is not going to the Saudis to buy their oil, but being spent here to fund bloated govern-ment programs!

McCain scored well as being the Hatchet Man who will cut government waste and bring spending under control.  He took Obama to task for his earmarks and pork, like a $3 million dollar projector for a planetarium in Chicago.  It seems to me that such items should be purchased with money donated by charitable individuals and groups, not forced from taxpayers.  McCain also delivered per-haps the best punch of the night by forcefully telling Obama that if he wanted to run against George Bush, he should have run for presi-dent four years ago.

The subject of the nasty campaign rhetoric was ar-gued.  Both accused each other as to who was more nastier.  McCain wanted Obama to denounce the statements of Rep. John Lewis who claimed that McCain and Palin were be-having like George Wallace and being racists.  Obama would not oblige him.  He instead badgered McCain for his negative ads, despite the fact that Obama is airing some 4 times more negative ads on TV than McCain.

Obama once again tried to explain his associations with former Weatherman terrorist, William Ayers, as well as with the scandal-ridden group, ACORN.  Again, his explanations were slim and lacked details.  McCain also took Obama to task on his going back on his promise of adhering to public financing for his campaign.

Scheiffer asked each how they felt about their vice presidential picks and if they could do the job if needed.  Obama pointed to Biden’s experience and his know-ledge of foreign policy.  McCain pointed out Biden’s errors in foreign policy, such as being against the First Gulf War and against the Surge in Iraq, as well as Biden’s nutty idea for divid-ing Iraq into three states.  McCain praised Palin for her reform work in Alaska and her background on energy issues.  Obama took a pass on attacking her.

On energy policy, McCain continued to argue for his ‘do-it-all-now’ approach to lead America to energy inde-pendence.  Obama raised his standard lines about green energy and only proposed to “look” at off-shore oil drilling as an option.  On healthcare, both again offered nothing we have not heard before.  Obama wants to mandate businesses to provide health insurance, giving them a $3,000 tax credit.  McCain wants to give individuals a $5,000 tax credit.  McCain tied their differences to the battle between government versus private choice.

The subject of abortion came up for the first time since the Saddleback Forum. Schieffer asked each if it would be a litmus test for any Supreme Court nominations?  Both say no litmus tests but were split on abortion as policy.  On education, both agreed that America’s school sys-tems were failing.  Obama wants to throw more money at it, McCain preached re-forming the system.

At the end, McCain once again tried to make the point that he is a reformer who will bring about change in government.  Obama said that we face a situation as bad as the Great Depression and that he will change the country.  Bob Scheiffer had the best closing line when he quoted his mother, “Go vote now, it’ll make you feel big and strong.”  LOL!  

Once again, I’ll have to score this one a draw.  McCain did far better on this one than the previous two debates.  He was better on substance but still lacked emotion and conviction.  Obama, ever the performer, was cool and col-lected.  His delivery was as good as it gets.  But he was still lacking in specifics and fuzzy on details.

He was also fuzzy on facts.  Such as his saying that we, America, invented the auto-mobile.  While we certainly made them better and cheap-er for a time, thanks to Ford’s moving production line, the world’s first auto-mobile was, in fact, from Germany, invented by Karl Benz in 1885.  Unless you want to give the honor to Nicolas Cugnot of France who in-vented the first steam-powered vehicle in 1796.  I am surprised that Obama, ever the worldly intellectual, would not be aware of that!  LOL!

There has been increased
scrutiny of ACORN, the
Association of Community
Organizations for Reform
Now, and the Obama cam-
paign.  Revelations of his
past ties to the group as a
trainer of get-out-the-vote
drives, as well as represent-
ing them in court on "Motor
Voter" lawsuits.  ACORN is
now facing criminal investi-
gations in four states, as well
as other investigations in 14
states for voter registration
fraud.  In addition, the group
is closely tied to the current
mortgage fiasco.

That there are close ties be-
tween Obama and ACORN
should come as no surprise.
On of ACORN's founders was
none other than Chicago's
Saul Alinsky, the father of
"community organizing".  He's
about as Socialist as they get
which is why former Weather-
man terrorist, Bill Ayers, had
Obama allocate ACORN a
great deal of the $15 Million
dollars a year the Chicago
Annenberg Challenge foun-
dation was doling out to
radicalize school children.

In addition to his other con-
nections of the past, Obama's
campaign has paid out some
$830,000 to one of ACORN's
subsidiaries to 'get-out-the-
vote' in key battleground states.
It is in such states that state
and Federal investigators are
looking into voter registration
fraud.  In Las Vegas, ACORN's
office was raided and computer
and other documents showed
the entire roster of the Dallas
Cowboys had registered there
to vote.  In Ohio, a cat was
registered!  In many places,
the same person was regist-
ered multiple times, in one
case, 72 times!  He was paid
for registering with cash and
cigarettes!

But rumors are also circulat-
ing that ACORN and the
Obama campaign may now
being looked at by Federal
prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald.
He has been operating in
Chicago, conducting the
investigation I have written
before about, "Operation
Boad Games".  Since 2003,
"Board Games" has netted
and convicted a number of
associates of Obama who
were part of the Illinois Com-
bine, a group of corrupt
politicians and businessmen.
Antoin 'Tony' Rezko is just
the latest fish caught by
"Board Games" and Fitzgerald.

The rumor is that large sums
of cash have been flowing into
Obama's campaign in small
donations washed through
ACORN personnel.  Obama
has received some $282
Million dollars in small contri-
butions, under $200, which do
not require the same level of
documentation as larger ones
do.  Investigators are finding
scores of donations from
sources with fictitious names.
Some are just strings of letters.

There is also money flowing in
from overseas without verifica-
tion that the donation is from
an American who is abroad.
Foreign contributions are illegal
under Federal election laws.
Who this money is from and
how it is being transferred to
the Obama campaign is the
issue.  But there are early
whiffs that are putting inves-
tigators on ACORN's scent.

The mortgage meltdown is
largely due to pressure that
ACORN and similar groups
put on the Clinton administra-
tion back in 1993.  By late
December of '93, new rules
and guidelines were given to
private banks to force them
into giving more loans to
poor and minority applicants
with little or no documenta-
tion.  An average of 20%
of these loans default, where-
as the pre-1993 average was
closer to 4%.

Such loans increased annual-
ly nearly 25% from 1994 till
2001.  ACORN not only used
it's political pressure on Wash-
ington, but would also organize
groups to invade banks and
business meetings to intimi-
date lenders.  Often, a dozen
or so would just push their
way into a board meeting of
bank executives and just
stand and stare at them with-
out saying a word.

Such tactics are classic from
Saul Alinsky.  His book,
"Rules For Radicals", is the
bible for community organizers
like Obama was before running
for elected office.  Alisnky even
dedicated his book to the first
radical, Lucifer!  This shows the
mind-set of Obama, ACORN
and others who practice such
tactics.

Obama, Ayers, ACORN,
Rezko and the Reverend
Jerimiah Wright, all share the
same common threads of mix-
ing Socialism and corruption.
They all run in the same
circles and dabble in the same
rhetoric.  All seek to get what
they can from taxpayers and
assault traditional, middle-
class values.  Despite what
they preach, they all also
seek their slice of the pie
and are just as greedy as
those they rail against.

Today may mark the beginning
of the end.  Not sure of what
yet?  The financial meltdown?
Or Capitalism?

As the Dow Jones rocked and
rolled all over the map, two
other events occured of note
worthiness. The U.S. Treasury
auctioned off some $400 Billion
dollars worth of CDS holdings
from the now-defunked Lehman
Brothers.  Credit Default Swaps
are a form of insurance policy
investors take out should the
bonds they buy default.  It
is estimated that Lehman's
CDS's covered somewhere
around $2 TRILLION dollars
worth of assets.

The CDS's sold at auction for
an average price of 8.625 cents
on a dollar!  What does this
mean?  Well, to put it bluntly,
it means that such invest-
ments may only have a street
value of less than 9%!  There
are some $60 TRILLION dollars
worth of CDS's out there in the
world's investment and hedge
fund firms!

Insurance giant, A.I.G. was one
of the major underwriters of
Lehman's CDS's.  One of the
reason the U.S. government
moved in to bail out AIG was
to prevent a collapse of this
market mechanism.  Some
$123 Billion dollars has been
issued to shore up AIG.  It
was hoped that today's auc-
tion would net more than what
it did.

The second event of the day
was Treasury Secretary Hank
Paulson announcing that the
U.S. Treasury would begin
buying positions in major
banks.  It is hoped that this
will cushion more blows in
the future and unfreeze the
credit markets.  England
began doing the same last
week with several of it's
larger banks.  Today, the
streets of London were
filled with angry protestors
who oppose the action.

Likewise, in Washington,
a large rally of free market
supporters, Americans for
Prosperity, gathered in more
peaceful, but vocal demonstra-
tions.  They are unhappy about
the recent actions of the U.S.
government to socialize banks
and other financial markets.
AFP president Tim Phillips
told the Washington Times
that they see the current
problems as the result of
government policies and not
the fault of free markets.

Meanwhile, the financial
ministers of the G7 nations
are meeting in WDC to dis-
cuss solutions to the crisis.
The entire world is now reel-
ing from the fall out of the
subprime mortgage collapse.
Iceland is on the brink of going
bankrupt!  The tiny country
had enjoyed great prosperity
for many years, issuing bonds
with attractive, high interest
rates.  England, where a large
portion of the bonds are held,
is demanding that Iceland
honor their bond commitments
and raise taxes immediately!

So, in a nutshell, events of
today could be interpeted one
of two ways.  On the one hand,
we may now have some idea
where the bottom lies in all
of this mess... at 8.625%!  If
that's the case, then hold on
to your hats, cause we've still
got a long ride down!

On the other hand, we may
now see some extraordinary
measures being taken by
world governments to get a
grip on the situation.  The
nationalization of the market-
place could just be the begin-
ning.  Deep budget cuts and
higher tax rates soon to follow.
If nations holding the notes on
America's national debt start
screaming, demanding imme-
diate compensation, things
will get very ugly, very fast!

ZZZZZZZ.  Oh, am I on now?
Is the debate over?  LOL!  Yes,
it was another less than in-
spiring performance by both
presidential candidates.  For
the most part, another re-hash-
ing of campaign stump speech-
es and talking points.

Much of the fault of this, how-
ever, falls on Tom Brokaw's
shoulders.  The format was
supposed to be a 'townhall'
setting, with the audience
asking the questions them-
selves.  However, each of the
carefully screened 80 partici-
pants had to submit their
questions in advance and be
reviewed by Brokaw.  Only he
would choose which were to
be asked and the order of the
asking.

The questions were all the
obvious ones.  Of the fifteen
posed, only the last one was
interesting.  It asked how each
would deal with something
they did not know.  Obama's
answer was a non-answer,
McCain worked in his experi-
ences, and his belief in the
goodwill of Americans.

The first three dealt with the
economy.  Surprisingly to
some in the media, McCain
actually did better on these.
He gave more specifics, though
none that we have not heard
before.  Obama continued to
pin everything on the eight
years of the Bush Administra-
tion.  McCain blamed every-
body except himself.

On healthcare, Obama scored
more points.  On entitlements,
McCain faired better, again
playing the experience card
and his past record of biparti-
san cooperation.  He also was
more generous on energy poli-
cies, again advocating a 'do-it-
all' approach towards energy
independence.

McCain was able to land some
low-impact hits on Obama on
tax policies, but came up short
on truly selling his plans.  He
did point out that if Obama did
implement his policy, it would
effect half of the small busines-
ses in America, which employs
60% of the workforce.

The subject of foreign affairs
was touched on towards the
end.  McCain again took his
opponent to task on Obama's
past statements and lack of
experience.  But McCain did
not deliver any knock-out
punches.  In the end, Obama
still looks reasonably presi-
dential.  

I will give this event as a
McCain win by default, pri-
marily because he was
much more animated due
to the format.  He was more
personable and lively.  For
Obama, he succeeded in
not making any gaffs.  The
lack of spontaneity of the
questions allowed him to
deliver his usual canned an-
wers.

Mechanically, Brokaw did
have to reign in Obama on
two occasions when he
wanted to make a counter
argument to something that
McCain said.  The second
time, McCain jumped in as
well, making Obama appear
nebbish.

But, once again, as with the
first debate, nothing new was
truly learned.  I would find it
difficult to see how tonight
would change anyone's mind.
Or even sway one who is still
on the fence undecided.  And
that is bad for McCain!  Being
behind in the polls, he needs
to spark a concern or inspira-
tion that might turn things
back in his favor.

Likewise, the danger that
Obama faces is his strategy
of just trying to run down the
clock.  The last two weeks of
bad economic news has bene-
fitted him greatly. But, as elec-
tion looms only 27 full days
away, has he done enough to
'close the deal'?  There is still
a sizeable portion of the folks
out there who are undecided.
Will they play it safe and go
with the comfortable old shoe?
Or will they take a chance
and try Brand X?