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Going To Hell In A Very Stylish Handbasket.

"El diablo sabes mas por viejo que por diablo" - old Mexican proverb

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Achtung! Das machine ist nicht für gerfingerpoken und mittengraben. Ist too easen für schnappen der pringenwerk, blowenfusen, und poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht für gewerken by dast dumkopfen - das rubbernecken sightseeren ban keepen das hands in der pocketsen, relaxen und vatchen das blinkenlights.

links:
Grandfather Economic Report
Tom Paine
The Nation
RGE Monitor
The Economist
Landover Baptist Church
The Onion
Ernie's House of Whoop Ass

This is a clip from the movie "Rollover" (1981):

"The first thing I would do is say, 'Let's not call it a bailout. Let's call it a rescue,'" McCain told CNN. He said, "Americans are frightened right now"

He also seems to think we're major-league idiots. Let's just call it something else, and they won't realize they're being mugged, eh Johnny? Fucker. Way worse than Obama, and I think Obama sucks lizard dick.

BTW, here's what I got when I tried to email my congressman a few minutes ago:

"Messaging Service Unavailable

The House of Representatives is currently experiencing an extraordinarily high amount of email traffic. The Write Your Representative function is therefore intermittently available. While we realize communicating to your Members of Congress is critical, we suggest attempting to do so at a later time, when demand is not so high. System engineers are working to resolve this issue and we appreciate your patience."

You can't "resolve this issue", you idiots. This is not a technical glitch, it is the sound of millions of Americans screaming

POWER TO THE PEOPLE, MOTHERFUCKERS!

Paulson is trying to scare everyone with garbage like "you won't be able to get a car loan, or a college loan". SO FUCKING WHAT? Where is it written that we need to borrow money for every fucking thing? Wah, wahhh - we'll just have to drive our cars longer and save up to go to college. What's that you say? That will hurt car sales and college enrollment? Wahh, wahhh - the prices will have to drop, won't they? Then maybe people will be able to afford cars without taking out huge loans, and get an education without having to mortgage their futures. We'll have to make do without your friendly neighborhood mortgage broker and loan banker. We'll have to spend less than we make.

What a concept, huh. If we don't bail out the greedy fatcats, things will come down to a sane level and we can all get on with our lives in a healthy way.

To understand how come our country is broke, you have to accept that government liabilities have grown to 3 times GDP in the last 15 years. That means that we owe 3 times more each year than we produce. And that ratio is growing exponentially.

Professor Chris Martenson describes what happens when things grow exponentially, rather than arithmetically:

Imagine you could make a football stadium watertight, he writes. Then, imagine that you put a magic drop of water in the center…a drop of water that doubles every minute…so that after six minutes or so, you'd have about enough water to fill a thimble. Now how long would it take before the stadium filled, he asks?

For the first 45 minutes, you can walk around the stadium and barely get your feet wet. But in the next 4 minutes the stadium fills and you drown.

Got your golden life preserver? I do. It ain't much, I'm not rich to begin with, but what I have I have in REAL money, not this fiat garbage they call the dollar. Gold will work a lot better than a stack of soggy dollars will.

Congress (narrowly) defeated the Paulson Plan. Power to the People! (I myself sent out hundreds of emails to congressmen and senators urging each one to vote NO) Now the markets are freaking out:

Spend it all! Why the fuck not? We'll just print more!

Senate sends big spending bill to Bush to sign

WASHINGTON , Associated Press - Automakers gained $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans and oil companies won elimination of a long-standing ban on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as the Senate passed a sprawling spending bill Saturday.

The 78-12 vote sent the $634 billion measure to President Bush, who was expected to sign it even though it spends more money and contains more pet projects than he would have liked.

The measure is needed to keep the government operating beyond the current budget year, which ends Tuesday. As a result, the legislation is one of the few bills this election year that simply must pass. Bush's signature would mean Congress could avoid a lame-duck session after the Nov. 4 election.

Paul Newman, actor who personified cool, dies

WESTPORT, Conn, Associated Press . - Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money" — followed by a second act as an activist, race car driver and popcorn impresario — has died. He was 83.

Newman died Friday at his farmhouse near Westport following a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.

In May, Newman dropped plans to direct a fall production of "Of Mice and Men" at Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse, citing unspecified health issues. The following month, a friend disclosed that he was being treated for cancer and Martha Stewart, also a friend, posted photos on her Web site of Newman looking gaunt at a charity luncheon.

But true to his fiercely private nature, Newman remained cagey about his condition, reacting to reports that he had lung cancer with a statement saying only that he was "doing nicely."

As an actor, Newman got his start in theater and on television during the 1950s, and went on to become one of the world's most enduring and popular film stars, a legend held in awe by his peers. He was nominated for Academy Awards 10 times, winning one Oscar and two honorary ones, and had major roles in more than 50 motion pictures, including "Exodus," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Verdict," "The Sting" and "Absence of Malice."

Newman worked with some of the greatest directors of the past half century, from Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston to Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers. His co-stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and, most famously, Robert Redford, his sidekick in "Butch Cassidy" and "The Sting."

He sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray. They wed in 1958, around the same time they both appeared in "The Long Hot Summer." Newman also directed her in several films, including "Rachel, Rachel" and "The Glass Menagerie."

Love this feisty little gal:

Sweet.

-----------------------------

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transaction is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury

Keep Marcy Kaptur in office, she gets it:

"battery"? Good luck proving that in court, ociffer!

Man charged after allegedly passing gas toward cop

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A West Virginia man has been charged with battery on a police officer for allegedly passing gas toward a patrolman.

Jose Cruz, 34, of Clarksburg was also charged with driving under the influence, driving without headlights and two counts of obstruction.

Cruz was pulled over by South Charleston police Tuesday for driving without headlights. After failing field sobriety tests, Cruz was taken to the station for a breathalyzer test.

The criminal complaint says that as a patrolman was preparing the machine, Cruz scooted his chair over, lifted his leg, passed gas and fanned it toward the officer.

Cruz was also allegedly very uncooperative during the entire arrest process.

The figures in this chart are in thousands. You are not seeing things - JPMorgan Chase is holding over $90 TRILLION of toxic crap. And that's why the Feds gave them $29 billion of YOUR tax dollars to buy Bear Sterns.

Now you know why the Fed bailout is stratospheric, why the dollar is tanking, and why food and gas prices are going through the roof. This will continue until the dollar falls so low and inflation soars so high that the dollar has to be trashed and the Amero propped up in its place.

"This is an unconscionable decision not based upon science or law but on concern that a more stringent standard could cost the government significantly."

Trillions for fat greedy bankers. Nothing for cleaning up killer chemicals dumped in your drinking water by the government.

We're on our own, kids...

EPA won't limit rocket fuel in drinking water

WASHINGTON, Associated Press - The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country.

EPA reached the conclusion in a draft regulatory document not yet made public but reviewed Monday by The Associated Press.

The ingredient, perchlorate, has been found in at least 395 sites in 35 states at levels high enough to interfere with thyroid function and pose developmental health risks, particularly for babies and fetuses, according to some scientists.

The EPA document says that mandating a clean-up level for perchlorate would not result in a "meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public-water systems."

Fed plows $30 billion in money markets overseas

WASHINGTON, Associated Press – The Federal Reserve, in coordinated action with foreign central banks, plowed $30 billion into money markets overseas Wednesday, part of an ongoing effort to fight a global credit crisis.

The Fed's action — taken at 1 a.m. EDT — sets up temporary "swap" arrangements to supply dollars to the central banks of Australia, Denmark, Norway and Sweden in exchange for their currencies.

"These facilities, like those already in place with other central banks, are designed to improve liquidity conditions in global financial markets," the Fed said in a brief statement.

"Central banks continue to work together during this period of market stress and are prepared to take further steps as the need arises," the Fed added.

The new swap arrangements will provide up to $10 billion each to the central banks of Australia and Sweden and $5 billion apiece to the central banks of Denmark and Norway.

Last week, the Fed and other foreign central banks pumped as much as $180 billion into money markets overseas. The European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Canada participated in that maneuver.

The global credit crisis poses a danger not only to the U.S. economy but also the world economy.

Finance officials from the world's major economic powers pledged this week to do all they can to provide relief.

The gigantic taxpayer dollar giveaway is a gimme to greedy rich fatcat bankers. It will help prop up a corrupt greedy system that has pumped housing prices through the stratosphere and nothing else.

And because it does absolutely nothing to make housing affordable again or create real jobs or lower prices for essentials, here is exactly why the bailout will never work:

Millions spend half of income on housing

MIAMI, Associated Press - Al Ray is so strapped for cash, the only time he eats out is on Wednesday or Sunday, when the local McDonald's sells hamburgers for 49 cents.

Ray lost his engineering job last November, and has been working as high school tutor, scratching out about $1,000 a month — if he's lucky. He struggled to make his $1,400 monthly mortgage payment and $330 monthly homeowners' association fee until May, when he stopped paying.

Ray, 44, is looking for work and renting out a room in his two-bedroom condo in Davie, Fla., for $500, but his monthly income doesn't match his expenses and he's facing foreclosure.

"I barely have money to survive," he said.

Ray is one of more than 7.5 million people — almost 15 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage — who are spending half of their income or more on housing costs, according to 2007 data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up from nearly 7.1 million the year before.

Traditionally, the government and most lenders consider a homeowner spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing costs to be financially burdened. But that definition now covers almost 38 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage — 19 million of them.

Though home prices have fallen this year, in the most expensive markets where home prices tripled during the boom, many working families still cannot afford to buy a home.

"We had a bubble," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. "This is a case where we absolutely want the market to adjust."

The data underscore the serious affordability problems in this country and highlight how the slightest financial problem — from a lost job to higher gas prices or insurance premiums — can put a family behind on their mortgages and into the realm of foreclosure.

This is great but in the end pointless, as Congress will sign a blank check, give dictatorial powers to openly loot the Treasury to the Fed (it's in the language of the proposal - NO LEAGL OVERSITE OF ANY KIND), and then promptly go on vacation. I shit you not, we're facing financial armageddon, and these assholes are going on vacation next week for a month!

Dear Congress

Treasury Secretary Paulson is asking you to rush through a $700 billion package because "we’re literally maybe days away from a complete meltdown of our financial system".

Paulson states that it must be done quickly and that it is better than the alternatives. Fed Chairman Bernanke agrees.

The first question Congress should ask is how would Paulson or Bernanke know?

It was only a month ago Paulson was reiterating to anyone who would listen how sound our banking system is. The fact of the matter is that neither Paulson nor Bernanke saw this coming, yet now Congress is supposed to trust they now "know" the solution.

Problem Defined

Before one can work out a solution, the first step is to identify the problem. The problem is not a lack of liquidity, it is not a lack of trust, it is not lack of consumer confidence, it is not subprime lending, and in fact the problem is not housing at all.

The problem is consumers and corporations are deep in debt with no way to service that debt.

Attempts to bail out banks and brokers at taxpayer expense will do nothing but add to consumer debt, weaken the US dollar, and literally waste $700+ billion dollars that can and should go to more productive uses.

What Caused The Problem?

* The Fed

* Congress

* Fractional Reserve Lending

* The Treasury

The root cause of this problem is the Fed micromanaging interest rates, the Treasury cheerleading every step of the way, and Congressional sponsored spending that went wild. The critical issue that ties everything together is fractional reserve lending allows banks to borrow money (credit really) into existence with insane amounts of leverage.

To top it all off, Greenspan slashed rates to 1% fueling the biggest global housing bubble the world has ever seen. Congress needs to figure out a way to eliminate the Fed.

Fed Uncertainty Principle

I kindly ask of you to please read the Fed Uncertainty Principle written April 03, 2008 before any hint of this meltdown occurred. Here is Corollary Number Two.

Uncertainty Principle Corollary Number Two:

The government/quasi-government body most responsible for creating this mess (the Fed), will attempt a big power grab, purportedly to fix whatever problems it creates. The bigger the mess it creates, the more power it will attempt to grab. Over time this leads to dangerously concentrated power into the hands of those who have already proven they do not know what they are doing.

Why The Paulson Solution Fails

The Paulson solution fails because it does not help consumers or businesses service debt, it does not create any jobs, it increases the national debt, and it encourages more reckless lending by banks. Attempting to bail out banks on the back of cash strapped consumers is simply doomed to fail.

If printing money was the solution to all problems, Zimbabwe would be the most prosperous country in the world.

The Barney Frank Non-Solution

"We're going to be buying up a lot of mortgage paper" said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.

Sadly, that will not do a single thing in and of itself to stop foreclosures. All that will do is bail out banks and brokers at taxpayer expense.

Barney Frank also stated “We should be more willing to write down the mortgages. We’ll become the lender. The government will wind up in a controlling position so that we can reduce the number of foreclosures.”

Congress needs to ask "How much extra will Barney Frank's proposal cost taxpayers?"

Were does the madness end?

As stated earlier the problem is not housing in the first place, and besides taxpayers who pay their mortgages on time should not be subsidizing those who don't!

Banks Need To Recapitalize

Paulson wants to recapitalize banks so they can keep lending. Ironically, one of the problems is lending. The US has been on a credit binge to such an extent that I have to ask what more do we need? More Pizza Huts? More Home Depots? More Houses? More Nail Salons? More Car Dealers? What?

What is the urgent need to lend still more?

We are in this mess because of too much reckless lending. We do not need more lending, we need more saving!

Paulson's idea that more lending is needed is ass backwards. Paulson's proposal cheapens the dollar, and discourages the one thing that is desperately needed: saving.

Alternatives Discussed

In the mad rush to push through this package, Paulson states it is better than the alternatives. That is an interesting statement because no alternative have even been presented to Congress, let alone discussed.

Shouldn't there be a discussion of alternatives before doing a mad dash to sign a $700 billion package?

Paulson is attempting to hoodwink Congress to pass his plan without any discussion of alternatives. I believe the Paulson proposal is the worst of all solutions in that it bails out banks at the expense of the taxpayer and the taxpayer gets virtually nothing out of the deal: no jobs, no tax relief, no health care.

Paulson claims that taxpayer will benefit by the bailout indirectly because one the government owns the debt, servicers will be more willing to negotiate terms. Once again, it will be taxpayers on the hook for any negotiation granted. Paulson conveniently ignores this cost as does Barney Frank.

Taxpayer Gets Nothing From Current Bailout Proposals

The taxpayer gets nothing for this bailout $700 billion. Actually the taxpayer gets a negative benefit because the Paulson and Frank proposals will cheapen the US dollar, increase the deficit, and ultimately cause prices of imported goods to rise for everyone, while saving a relative few.

The solution is to address the recapitalization of banks in a fair way that does not jeopardize the taxpayer but instead puts the onus of responsibility on banks making reckless lending.

Recapitalizing Banks

Banks are undercapitalized. They need funding badly. Here is what I propose.

* Reduce the capital gains tax by 50% for any investor willing to cash out stocks and invest in 5 year bank CDs.

* Eliminate the difference between long term and short term capital gains.

* Eliminate taxable interest on savings accounts, CDs, and US treasuries.

The above would promote saving rather over speculation and provide a big boost in government revenues as well. Stock prices will not be affected over the long haul by these measures.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

I am a libertarian. I do not believe in makeshift government proposals. However, I would rather get something than nothing for $700 Billion. Paulson's proposal scores a big fat zero in term of providing an jobs or any real economic stimulus.

It is no secret that infrastructure in the US is decaying and needs to be fixed. A collapsing bridge in Minnesota is one key example. And what out our aging energy grid? Instead of giving $700 billion to banks that deserve to go under, I would rather give half that for jobs programs.

To create as many jobs as possible at the least cost Congress needs to scrap the Davis-Bacon Act. It would be better to create 3 construction jobs at $12 an hour than 1 job at $36 an hour. The idea here is to get as most bang for the buck and create as many jobs as possible for the money spent.

Waste In Iraq

We need to admit the mistakes in Iraq. The public never supported this war and the public was correct. The war in Iraq easily cost $1 trillion dollars if you count future medical bills. That is $1 trillion dollars that could have been spent right here in the US.

I propose we declare the war won and get out, totally and completely. Offer returning veterans first crack at any infrastructure rebuilding jobs. It is the least we can do to those who are likely going to be emotionally if not physically scarred for the rest of their lives fighting a war that never should have been fought.

Congressional Spending

Congress needs to admit its own role in this mess. Congress passed hundreds of programs to make housing more affordable. They all failed including the biggest failure of all: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It should not be the role of Congress to promote housing vs. renting. The very act of doing so creates an artificial demand for housing. Ownership society madness culminated with many financially unqualified to buy a house buying house anyway because Congress and the White House promoted the idea.

Congress is also directly responsible for deficit spending and that weakened the US dollar. Indeed there was virtually a panic out of dollars for this reason. Adding another $700 billion to the deficit as Paulson is asking you to do is adding insult upon injury. Don't do it.

Instead balance the budget. It can be done.

Who Am I?

Who am I to suggest what Congress should do? I am nobody. However, this nobody and a bunch of fellow nobody bloggers and bunch of nobody fund managers who I respect all saw this all coming 3-4 years ago. Paulson did not, Bernanke did not, and almost everyone in Congress did not.

So the choice Congress needs to make is who to believe. Congress can believe Bernanke and Paulson who have been totally wrong about everything for years, or Congress can listen to people who not only understand what is happening but predicted it.

Desire To Believe

You desperately want to believe that Paulson and Bernanke are telling the truth. You have for years put your faith and trust in them. It is a very difficult thing to do to admit you are wrong.

However, it is critical that you look at the simple facts for what they are.

The fact is Paulson is grasping at straw in a tornado. So is Bernanke. Problems cannot be cured by printing money, and problems cannot be on the backs of already overburdened consumers.

No problem is fixed by madly and blindly rushing into solutions where no alternatives are discussed. You now have alternatives.

I will also offer one more alternative but it is not from me. I kindly ask Congress to consider An Open Letter to the U.S. Congress Regarding the Current Financial Crisis by John P. Hussman, Ph.D., an economist and investment manager whose opinion I trust.

Hussman too has an opinion as to how to address this issue without impacting the taxpayer. For the record, I have no idea what he might think of my proposal.

However, between the Hussman proposal and mine, I am sure there is fertile ground for further discussion and for doing something other than what I believe to be the worst possible alternative, the proposal submitted by Treasury Secretary Paulson.

No problem is too big that a solution has to be rushed into without considering the alternatives. I ask that you consider these alternative proposals either over an extended session or by letting the next Congress tackle the issue.

Heaven help us if recess is more important than taking the time to seriously consider all reasonable alternatives.

Sincerely

Mike "Mish" Shedlock

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

These fine fellows are the ones leading the parade over the cliff:

"*** "Nothing like this has ever happened before," said Peter Bernstein to Barron's. "There have been credit crunches and housing crises and dollar crises, but having all the chickens coming home to roost at the same time and interacting with one another is unique. We have historical perspective on the parts, but not the whole, and that makes things both interesting and scary…"

....

Getting back to our "collision of scams," as Peter Bernstein puts it, there are a lot of feathered scams…and they're all coming home to roost at the same time. There's bound to be trouble in the coop.

In from the front yard comes the scam of ever-rising house prices. And it collides head on with the scam of the consumer finance coming from the henhouse roof (that people could borrow from their houses in order to increase spending)…

…that runs into the whole humbug of the consumer economy (that people can get richer by spending money they don't have)…

…that smashes into the flimflam of subprime mortgage lending…

…which bumps into the scam of the financial industry's business model (the masters of the universe claimed to be adding value by "allocating capital efficiently; what they were really doing was merely loading people up with debt)…

…which crashes into the big birds of Wall Street (now going broke)…

…which runs into the fraud of government bailouts (that the feds can put in money that comes out of thin air; in fact, any resources the put in to prop up failing institutions has to be taken from healthy ones…)…

…which creates one heck of a mess when it slams into the dollar and the counterfeit global monetary system since 1971 (in which the supply of paper money is unlimited…and the full faith and credit of the US government is thought to be infinite!)

We're talking chicken gumbo! "

[FatCatz Ben Bernanke, Chris Dodd and Hank Paulson]

With its refusal to bail out Lehman and its 180 degree turn in bailing out AIG, the feds have officially let the cat out of the bag. Pictures pretty much say it all:

Dontcha love it? Bizarroworld right down to the "funny t-shirts" ad in the corner...

Wasn't the AIG bailout supposed to "calm investor fears"?

Yah, the "fundamentals of the economy must be sound" when gold rockets up like that...

The pic below is NOT a photoshop - this is an actual pic snapped by a news photographer of Paulson answering frantic calls from governments all over the world about the crash:

At a later appearance in Orlando, Florida, McCain talked about the American worker, small businesses and American innovation and entrepreneurism. ``Those are the fundamentals of our economy and the fundamentals of our economy are strong,'' he said. - Associated Press

The fundamentals are FUCKED, John-boy. I know that you and your gazillionaire spritzhead trophy wife are doing okay with your 7 houses etcetera, but the rest of us are hurting BAD, it's getting worse every day, and you are a pandering, clueless old geezer.

I run my own business, Johnny, and I've watched my sales fall steadily for the last year to the point where I'm not sure I can even afford to pay my rent anymore. Seriously, I'm thinking of moving from my beautiful hometown to some shithole where the rent is at least affordable.

And I'm not alone, John-o. I don't give a damn what your cooked up BLS bullshit stats say, with their pull-it-out-of-our-ass "Birth & Death Model Assumptions"; unemployment is running at around 15% and getting worse daily. Little businesses are going belly up, and as you say, they are the fundamentals of our economy, our biggest employers, the mainstay of our lives. They're dying, you lying corporate tool fuckwad.

America is dying.

So fuck you, John McSame. Fuck you and your feel-good, brain-dead BushCo company-line soundbites.

Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch is bought at a 70% premium above market by Bank of America in a goobermint-arranged shotgun marriage "rescue" (ala Bear Stearns/JPMorgan Chase), and everyone is freaked out about AIG and WaMu.

Click here to watch Noriel Roubini on CNBC tell the talking heads what the numerous and heavily teetering next dominoes are:

Love it where he says Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley should go scare up a buyer while they still can ahahahaha!

Really? We can kill the owners of immoral media outlets? Hotdamn - headsup, shareholders of Fox News!

Saudi: OK to kill owners of 'immoral' TV networks

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's top judiciary official has issued a religious decree saying it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content.

The 79-year-old Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan said Thursday that satellite channels cause the "deviance of thousands of people."

Many of the most popular Arab satellite networks — which include channels showing music videos often denounced as obscene by Muslim conservatives — are owned by Saudi princes and well-connected Saudi businessmen. Al-Lihedan did not specify any particular channels.

WHEN SCAMS COLLIDE

by Bill Bonner

The dewy Democrat rolled along smartly in his new "change-mobile." Then, under pressure from the knuckleheads in his own party, he reversed to pick up that babbling hack, Joe Biden, as his running mate - and ran right into his own fraud. Biden is to Obama what Monica Lewinsky's blue dress was to Bill Clinton - the dumb thing that reveals the spoken lie.

Biden demolished his own presidential campaign in 1987 by pretending to be British Labor politician Neil Kinnock. Not only did he recite Kinnock's lines about being the first in his family to go to university, he also stole his identity, claiming that his father had worked in the coalmines. His own father was actually a polo-playing car salesman from Baltimore. But if the media hadn't stopped him, he probably be collecting Kinnock's pension by now.

Apparently, the better you know Biden, the less you like him. In his home state, 97% of voters refused to back him in the presidential primary. But that was Biden in the '80s. In the '00s, Biden is, supposedly, on the ticket because he knows who Saakashvili is. In truth, he's there because the old nags in the Democratic Party wanted someone they could trust on the ticket - a real go-along, get-along backslapper. They turned to Biden, in other words, not for change, but to avoid it. And now, Obama and Biden are trailing in the polls. Americans don't mind a liar in high office; but they're suspicious of one who can't keep his lies straight.

Meanwhile, over in the Republican camp, that tough old salt, McCain, has come about smartly, outmaneuvering the Dems by choosing a baroque woman from Alaska as his #2. But here too, he's run into his own humbug. If military experience were so important to the nation's top office, you'd think he - at 72 years old - would want a serious chief mate to take command if he were struck down. Ms. Palin's military experience is limited to 22 months as captain of the Alaska National Guard. Then again, she might be an improvement over McCain anyway.

His right to rule, McCain says, comes from his superior command of the military situation. But the claim looks counterfeit. During his tour of duty McCain, lost five U.S. Navy aircraft, four in accidents, one in combat. The first one went down in Corpus Christi Bay when he was practicing landings. The second crash occurred over Spain, when he was flying too low. He took out some power lines and bailed out. Number three was wrecked when he was flying into Philadelphia for an Army-Navy football game. The fourth one, at least, was not his fault. An accidentally-fired rocket hit his plane when he was waiting to take off. The resulting explosion killed 134 sailors, destroyed 20 aircraft and nearly sank the ship. Finally, in 1967, he got shot down, roughed up…and then, by his own admission, collaborated with the enemy in order to save his skin. Maybe getting shot down was just bad luck too, but sailors are a superstitious lot. They'd probably give the heave-ho to this right Jonah rather than set sail with him as captain.

Fascism goosesteps on:

Groups warn of growing government secrecy

WASHINGTON Associated Press - Government secrecy is on the rise by almost every measure, according to a report by a coalition of government oversight groups.

They said the U.S. is classifying more records as top secret or otherwise confidential and employing fewer workers who make federal documents available publicly.

"The open society on which we pride ourselves has been undermined and will take hard work to repair," said the report, described as a "secrecy report card" by OpenTheGovernment.org. It cited 14 different measurements to quantify government secrecy, including patents hidden from the public, secret court approvals for surveillance in sensitive terrorism and espionage investigations and the expanding use of informal labels to keep documents from being disclosed.

The group said there was an 80 percent decline over the last decade in the number of pages of records declassified, dropping last year to 37 million pages. Such declassifications peaked in the Clinton administration, with the opening of 204 million pages in 1997. The findings were based on the government's own figures.

Sarah Palin is fast becoming the Paris Hilton of the Far Right. Bet this one keeps Dick Cheney warm:

Sarah Palin's Alaskonomics

By Micahel Kinsley, TIME Magazine

Sarah Palin thinks she is a better American than you because she comes from a small town, and a superior human being because she isn't a journalist and never lived in Washington and likes to watch her kids play hockey. Although Palin praised John McCain in her acceptance speech as a man who puts the good of his country ahead of partisan politics, McCain pretty much proved the opposite with his selection of a running mate whose main asset is her ability to reignite the culture wars. So maybe Governor Palin does represent everything that is good and fine about America, as she herself maintains. But spare us, please, any talk about how she is a tough fiscal conservative.

Palin has continued to repeat the already exposed lie that she said, "No, thanks," to the famous "bridge to nowhere" (McCain's favorite example of wasteful federal spending). In fact, she said, "Yes, please," until this project became a symbol and political albatross.

Back to reality. Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks No. 1 in taxes per resident and No. 1 in spending per resident. Its tax burden per resident is 21/2 times the national average; its spending, more than double. The trick is that Alaska's government spends money on its own citizens and taxes the rest of us to pay for it. Although Palin, like McCain, talks about liberating ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, there is no evidence that being dependent on Alaskan oil would be any more pleasant to the pocketbook.

Alaska is, in essence, an adjunct member of OPEC. It has four different taxes on oil, which produce more than 89% of the state's unrestricted revenue. On average, three-quarters of the value of a barrel of oil is taken by the state government before that oil is permitted to leave the state. Alaska residents each get a yearly check for about $2,000 from oil revenues, plus an additional $1,200 pushed through by Palin last year to take advantage of rising oil prices. Any sympathy the governor of Alaska expresses for folks in the lower 48 who are suffering from high gas prices or can't afford to heat their homes is strictly crocodile tears.

As if it couldn't support itself, Alaska also ranks No. 1, year after year, in money it sucks in from Washington. In 2005 (the most recent figures), according to the Tax Foundation, Alaska ranked 18th in federal taxes paid per resident ($5,434) but first in federal spending received per resident ($13,950). Its ratio of federal spending received to federal taxes paid ranks third among the 50 states, and in the absolute amount it receives from Washington over and above the amount it sends to Washington, Alaska ranks No. 1.

Under the state constitution, the governor of Alaska has unusually strong powers to shape the state budget. At the Republican Convention, Palin bragged that she had vetoed "nearly $500 million" in state spending during her two years as governor. This amounts to less than 2% of the proposed budget. That's how much this warrior for you, the people, against it, the government, could find in wasteful spending under her control.

One thing Barack Obama and McCain disagree on is an oil windfall-profits tax. McCain is against it, on the theory that it is a tax and therefore bad and also on the theory that it would discourage domestic production. Obama is for it, on the theory that if oil companies can make a nice profit when oil sells for $50 per bbl., they can still make a nice profit when it sells at more than $100, even if the government takes a bit and spreads the money around to those who are hurting from higher oil prices.

Although Palin's words side with McCain in this dispute, her actions side with Obama. Her major legislative accomplishment has been to revamp Alaska's windfall-profits tax in order to increase the state's take. Alaska calls it a "clear and equitable share" tax. The state assumes that extracting oil from the tundra costs about $25 per bbl. and takes as much as 75% of the difference between that and the sale price.

Outmaneuvered And Outranked, Military Chiefs Became Outsiders

By Bob Woodward, Washington Post

At the Joint Chiefs of Staff in late November 2006, Gen. Peter Pace was facing every chairman's nightmare: a potential revolt of the other chiefs. Two months earlier, the JCS had convened a special team of colonels to recommend options for reversing the deteriorating situation in Iraq. Now, it appeared that the chiefs' and colonels' advice was being marginalized, if not ignored, by the White House.

Things are a LOT worse than the goobermint wants you to believe.

"Recently the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, delivered a lecture on the role of gold as a central bank reserve item. "National gold reserves," instructed Bundesbank, "have a confidence and stability-building function for the single currency in a monetary union. This function has become even more important given the geopolitical situation and the risks present in financial market developments." France and the European Central Bank, both primary sellers of gold over the past several months, might take note. I cannot remember a more direct statement from a central bank on the role of gold in the modern era, and a more direct assault on the "barbarous relic" description made famous by John Maynard Keynes.

Conclusion: Germany holds the world's second largest gold reserve next to the United States and plays a special role in the European Union as its largest single economy. The Bundesbank's caution will raise a few eyebrows across Europe not just in the official sector but the private sector as well.

Recommendation: Like millions of private investors across the globe, Germany holds gold as a form of savings impervious to currency depreciation, systemic failure and geopolitical instability. By its example, it has delivered an important message."

- Michael J. Kosares

FedUpUSA on Glenn Beck Show

Bloomberg: "The FHFA will take over Fannie and Freddie under a so-called conservatorship"

Definition of 'conservatorship':

"A conservatorship is an entity established by court order that some property or a person be subject to the legal control of another person or entity. Many jurisdictions use the term "guardianship of the person" to refer to the same legal principle. A person under conservatorship is a conservatee or protected person; a person under guardianship is a ward. "

Meaning the US Treasury will now manage FNMA and FMAC, pour trillions of taxpayer dollars into it in order to guarantee the crappy loans on its books, and allow the private owners of the two entities to retain all their profits.

Let me repeat that: the US goobermint will control its operations, pay off its liabilities with taxpayer money, and let the owners keep all the profits.

The kleptocrats have completely taken over this country. The thieves are in control of our Republic.

..., plus funny as hell:

We are a liberal nation. We always have been, we were founded on liberal principles. Educate yourself on the meaning of the term "liberal" and get your sorry fascist/socialist/collectivist head out of your ass. Restore the Republic! Defend the Constitution!

"to first explain the difference between "left" and "liberal," two terms that are used identically in the United States but actually have quite different meanings.

"Left" means what we most often refer to as "liberal:" a view that generally supports more government intervention in the market, individual freedom on social issues like abortion and gay rights and a more multilateral and cooperative foreign policy.

"Liberal," by contrast, refers (in its most precise form) to a specific set of beliefs about the nature and role of government. Defined (very) briefly, liberals believe the primary purpose of government is to guarantee the liberty and freedom (but not necessarily welfare) of its citizens. Hence, one can be left without being liberal (e.g., Marxists), or liberal without being left (e.g., libertarians).

The United States has been a liberal nation in this classic sense since its inception: John Locke, the first truly liberal political philosopher, is widely believed to have profoundly influenced Jefferson, Madison and the other Revolutionary luminaries, an influence that is palpable in the text of the Constitution (especially the Bill of Rights).

Since then, the liberal belief that government exists to ensure that all are free to pursue their own ends has become, and I don't think this is an exaggeration, the most widely accepted value in mainstream American politics.

This belief contrasts sharply with Western European welfare states who, though liberal in most senses, emphasize government's responsibility to protect its citizens from harm over its responsibility to ensure their freedom in ways that make many American liberals uncomfortable."

The 'Mother of All Moral Hazard 'has come to pass, with the biggest bailout of a privately-owned business in history. Wasn't it just two days ago, when dismal jobless claim figures were released, that Bush was telling us the economy is "fundamentally sound"? Taxpayers are now on officially the hook for the 5.4 trillion dollars worth of bad paper cooked up by criminal bankers and held by FNMA and FMAC - what's sound about that?

What the hell happened to taxation without representation? Who the hell made it okay to put ME in debt for the obscene profits of the banking system insiders?

Lies, damned lies, and more damned lies. We've completely gone through the Looking Glass, and the blatant insider manipulations have reached levels I can only describe as 'unbelievable'. Yet here they are for all to see:

US Government takes over mortgage giants

WASHINGTON, Associated Press - The Bush administration seized control Sunday of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, aiming to stabilize the housing market turmoil that is threatening financial markets and the overall economy.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is betting that providing fresh capital to the two firms will eventually lead to lower mortgage rates, spur homebuying demand and slow the plunge in home prices that has ravaged many areas of the country.

The huge potential liabilities facing each company, as a result of soaring mortgage defaults, could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, but Paulson stressed that the financial impacts if the two companies had been allowed to fail would be far more serious.

"A failure would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance," Paulson said.

But more importantly, "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in our financial markets here at home and around the globe," he added in a televised announcement.

The die-hard evangelicals and far right-wing nuts LOVE new Spritzhead Neocon Barbie. Everyone else seems to think girlfriend is more of an "oh-no-she-didnt!" Phyllis Shafly kinda liability. Certainly, sudden teen shotgun weddings and things like saying Iraq is a "task that is from God", pipelines in Alaska are "God's will", and pictures of her kneeling next to a beautiful buck elk she just shot dead do nothing to endear her to the masses... although I'm sure Dick "Darth Vader" Cheney has a full-on woodie...

Amazing Grace Lyrics

John Newton (1725-1807)
Stanza 6 anon.
---------

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

You are not a 'barista'. You are a clerk in a corporate coffeeshop. You press the button on the coffee machine. You make change. There is no artistry involved. FYI, 'barista' means bartender. You are not a bartender. You're a clerk in a coffeeshop. Deal with it.

'Venti' is not a real word. A 'large house coffee' is a perfectly acceptable way to order. I did not suddenly sprout two heads or declare jihad on your shop. I will not order "venti" anything. 'Venti' is italian for 'twenty'. I want a large fucking house coffee. Give me a large house coffee, moron.

'Latte' is nothing more than coffee with steamed milk. Paying more for steamed milk is insulting when I can put a little free half-and-half into my large house to make it much smoother and creamier than your expensive foam. Do not charge me for a "latte" or a "misto" when I ask for a little room for milk in my large house coffee.

'Misto' is your corporation's made-up name for milk and coffee. The generic name is 'cafe au lait', or, in spanish 'cafe con leche' meaning, literally, coffee with milk. I'm never going to order a 'misto', so stop trying to make me say the word. It's not a real word. Get over it.

I do not want my coffee 'Skinny'. I do not want it 'Decaf' or 'HalfCaf". Caffeine is the ONLY point to drinking coffee. Cream is so that the horrid bitter taste of burnt coffeeebeans gets masked into something halfway palatable. Girls are 'Skinny'. Decaf is the Antichrist. Get thee behind me, Satan, before I poke you in the eye with a plastic stirrer. Just gimme my fucking large house coffee.

I want my coffee plain, hot, large, and filled with caffeine. I want a little room to put some creamer in. And I want you to pour it quickly, and give me correct change. No, I don't want a scone with it. Or a donut, or any of the made-up names your company slaps on perfectly ordinary pastry. Coffee. Large. Plain. Dude.

Lastly, let me remind you that during any major economic downturn (such as the one we are just now entering), the first thing that goes is discretionary income. At five-plus bucks for a small cup of bitter coffee, your job has just become very discretionary.

Have you seen the Starfucks stock price lately? Ahahahahaha! Sayonnara, you pretentious little snots.

Priceless:

"And what does "fundamentally strong" mean? Our houses are overpriced, and our economy is dependent on people spending money they don't have on non-productive goods imported from other countries. Our banks are short of money, our government is up to its eyeballs in debt, and unemployment is rising rapidly. Where's the strength in any of that?"

This is with just a "glancing blow" from a Category 2 hurricane (Gustav):

Even a little harder or more direct of a storm hit, and it is clear the entire place will be underwater again. Which is what you get when you build below sea level on a marsh at the mouth of one of the world's largest rivers which coincidentally is in the natural path of hurricanes.

"Gov. Palin is a strong proponent of teaching abstinence-only sex education to teenagers."

Wow, that sure worked great, huh? HAR! And the boyfriend is just thrilled at the shotgun wedding arrangements, yeah right.

Gov. Palin Says Her Unmarried 17-Year-Old Daughter Is Pregnant

ABC News - "We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," reads the statement from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband Todd.

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned," they continued, referring to their 17-year-old daughter. "As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support."

The Palins said that "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media, respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who announced Palin as his running mate just three days ago, said the Palins would have no further comment.

"We ask that the media respect their daughter in the same tradition that has been afforded children of past candidates," McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said.

A McCain campaign official tells ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that McCain knew of Bristol's pregnancy and "didn't believe Governor Palin should be disqualified" from the vice presidency because of it. "If Democrats try to attack, it will backfire spectacularly," the official said.

Gov. Palin is a strong proponent of teaching abstinence-only sex education to teenagers.

McCain campaign officials said the information was released to combat unsubstantiated rumors that Gov. Palin's fifth child, Trig, born in April, was actually Bristol's child.

The unsubstantiated story, circulated on liberal websites, was based on circumstantial evidence, such as photographs of Gov. Palin looking quite thin when she was supposed to be seven months pregnant, as well as Palin's own account of Trig's birth -- which included her getting on an eight-hour flight from Texas to Alaska after her water burst.