SHORT SHOTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Given the continuing saga of the Natalee Holloway disappearance case in Aruba, I think the State Department should ban U.S. travel there until the matter is solved or resolved. I say it’s a disappearance as opposed to a murder because, although VanderSleeze has reportedly admitted twice to different people that he dumped her off a boat in the ocean, Aruba is well-known for its tolerance of kidnapping of young girls into the prostitution slave trade and, indeed, Holloway might still be alive. Whatever the case may be, Aruba’s obvious disregard for the safety of American citizens needs to be considered before we allow travel there.

* * * * *

Now that CitiBank is rolling in our dough, I’ve decided to quit paying my credit card bills. Why? It’s the only way I, an average American, can recoup some of the thousands of dollars our illustrious Congress is obligating our great grand children…each… to pay over these bailouts.

* * * * *

Whatever happened to the U.S. “pressure” to get General Electric out of Iran? Maybe they’re pulling a power play, (no apologies for the intended pun).

* * * * *

How to make your Congressman squirm: Walk right up to him, shake his hand, look into his eyes and say, “I want to personally thank you for being so proactive in resolving the illegal immigration issue.”

* * * * *

The two major reasons that U.S. automakers are in trouble are: (1) Neither FannieMae or FreddieMac are in the car loan business, and (2) the cost of union labor and benefits far exceeds what the competition is paying. My position is, if the union employees are not willing to take a big cut to put their employers in a better position in the market place, (I’d rather be making $20 an hour than nothing….), then they deserve to be out of a job. The fact is, if you buy American cars, you’ve already contributed more than your fair share by way of paying more than you should; now, Pelosi and Reid want you to pay again to keep them in business. I say to them… “Up yours,” (exhaust pipe, I mean,).

* * * * *

We no longer need to be looking for alternative energy sources; the price of oil is in the toilet. You don’t suppose people have quit driving because they’re out of a job, do you? Good God, man, the price of gas is down to $1.60 a gallon in some places, and I’ve even heard rumors that they’ll soon be giving out S&H Green Stamps at the pumps.

* * * * *

Yes, I agree. As long as we’re bailing out this and that, why not bail out the occupants of Gitmo, too? Certainly, as terrorists they belong to a disadvantaged minority….. Maybe India would like to rent Gitmo from us, to store THEIR terrorists. Or, maybe, they'll hang them in a public square and throw their bodies into a pigsty. Maybe WE could learn something from that act?

* * * * *

The story is that the collapse of the home lending market has been riddled with felony-type fraud on a massive scale, which Congress is trying to keep a lid on because, if they allow an investigation and charges to be filed, some of their own members are going to go down. There is a major, major big-time cover-up in progress.

* * * * *

The Janet Jackson case has made its way to the Supreme Court. If she wins the appeal hearing, you can expect more displays of nudity on national prime-time television and thousands of bike riders in Portland and Seattle will be tooting their little “hornies” in a “display” of support.

* * * * *

More terrorist threats? Don’t they understand that all they have to do is wait a few more months and this country will collapse anyway? The dearth of responsible moral and fiscal leadership in Washington is leading us there; in fact, we may already be over the precipice and well on our way to oblivion. I like the way they huff and puff and say that Europe is suffering, too, as if that justifies their total mishandling of our nation. Notice how they glibly ignore the fact that WE started this world-wide economic disaster through THEIR incompetence and malfeasance? Or, does that matter anymore?

* * * * *

They have referred to us as the “Godless Society,” which is probably now totally true. Instead of sending corrupt government leaders off to jail, instead of holding our country to standards of ethics and moral decency, we are comfortable in shrugging our shoulders and pretending that there is nothing we can do about it.

* * * * *

If Al Queda and Companies keep on with their destructive bombings in India, we could soon run out of computer support technicians and other call-center operatives. Given the circumstances, that remark may seem insensitive but, just what do you think the terrorists are going to do after we release all of their friends from Gitmo? When will this country wake up and realize that “a tooth for a tooth” is a wise saying? If we had just butchered every one of those Gitmo prisoners instead of taking them alive to Gitmo, I don’t think we’d be watching what is going on in India today. Now, we seem to be bound and determined to set them free to do it to us again….. Bush didn’t do a whole lot to be thankful for, but he has kept terrorism out of this country since 9/11. Now, our Judges and politicians want to reopen the avenues that the terrorists traveled on their way to the World Trade Center.

* * * * *

This Christmas, it would be a good idea for all Americans to go and worship in a church of their choice, while we still have the privilege. After all, a government official might be influenced in his decisions by participating in religious practices and, therefore, all religious practices should be banned. Already, ABC has banned the wearing of US Flag lapel pins on its newscasts on the basis that they don't want people to think they are supporting any "causes."

* * * * *

These are indeed troubling times, aren’t they? But, as long as Americans don’t seem to care, it is surely going to get worse. Put THAT on your holiday dessert plate and see how it looks. I already know how it tastes.

* * * * *

Speaking of taste, how does THIS taste? Remember the good old days when mom would go to the market and buy a beautiful rolled roast tied with butcher's string and, if you were fortunate, you'd get first crack at sucking and licking on the string after the roast was done? These days, the price of beef is so high that you need a bank loan to buy a roast. Problem is, the banks aren't lending. Maybe our forefathers, in their infinite wisdom, knew that this day was coming and decided to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with a turkey, instead. Which, of course, is why I invited my Congressman to Thanksgiving Dinner this year. If that play on words sailed over your head, you need to drink less wine.

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR GIVING THANKS

Our religion and our guns are just about all we have left.

But, take some solace in the fact that we at least get a day off to lick our wounds.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, dismally submitted.

WILL WE EVER BAIL OURSELVES OUT?

Congress decided to put off a bailout for the auto industry? One idea being bandied about is to allow automakers to convert the $25 billion recently given them for research, design and manufacturing of more energy–efficient cars into the “necessary” bailout. That would get the funds into the hands of the Big 3 without a public outcry, and Congress could wait a few months until oil prices inevitably start back up to re-fund the “green” money. Americans, being as dumb as they have been proven to be, will buy this ploy without so much as a whimper.

In the meanwhile, the brilliance of Nancy Pelosi and her House cohorts continues to astound me. One of the biggest reasons that Detroit can’t compete with the likes of Toyota is that Detroit’s union labor is getting enormously high compensation and benefits in comparison to foreign auto makers. The only way that this can be resolved is if the automakers restructure themselves by going into bankruptcy and shedding themselves of these and other huge costs. Pelosi says she will not allow that to happen, so any bailout money given to Detroit will be absolutely fruitless, because it cannot resolve the major fundamental problem.

There are only three remaining avenues. One would be to nationalize and give government a total control over the automobile industry. Another would be to slap a tariff on automobile imports, but Toyota manufactures most of its U.S. cars right here in America. Or, the government could require that all auto workers in the country be paid at the same rate; that would force Toyota to increase its prices and thereby make Detroit more competitive in the marketplace. As a possible fourth solution, there could be some combination of the above three.

The infusion of taxpayer money will have no impact whatsoever on the fact that most foreign cars are better made; Kelley Blue Book has announced its top 10 brands for resale value, and not one car manufactured by the Big Three was on the list. The only other way that Detroit can compete is through outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries, where associated costs are lower. Ironically, that decreases the number of available jobs in Detroit, and Pelosi doesn’t want Detroit to go into bankruptcy and restructure because she wants to protect labor?

Some might try to put the blame for this economic mess on Treasury, or on the Congress. I know that I certainly did. Paulson did a miserable job of steering this economy, as far as I am concerned. The housing loan debacle that precipitated this situation certainly was within the scope of management and oversight of the Congress, but they consciously either ignored the warning signs or they deliberately chose not to do anything about the looming crisis.

So, I blamed those people and it was easy to justify my blame. But, I was wrong. We just went through a painful election process and WE chose not to turn the bums out of office; the blame for this mess belongs on our shoulders, not theirs. And, until WE are prepared to take the responsibility for our own actions, or the lack thereof, we need to learn to just bend over on the Detroit freeway and take what’s coming to us.

Just to add a little salt to the wounds, if you think for one second that the Detroit mess is the last mess we are going to face in this “economic downturn,” you’ve got another thing, or two, or three or more coming. Let’s start with the CitiBank thing. Let’s follow that up with a dismal holiday season forecast coupled with impending mass layoffs and manufacturing and retail bankruptcies, and let’s add a big, fat income tax boost to the picture to try and cover all of this.

As a play on Al Jolson’s famous words, “Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

THE UNIMAGINABLE, BUT REAL COSTS OF THE ELECTION

For seemingly endless months, the crescendo built, built, and built until it virtually drowned out all of the other events that were simultaneously occurring on the world’s immense stage. Suddenly, the roaring din of the election came to a screeching halt and, when the explosive dust settled, America found itself facing a multitude of problems on both the domestic and international fronts. Further, the methodologies for dealing with those problems differ vastly between the current and future Administration.

First and foremost on all of our minds is the plummeting stock market, rising unemployment, and the risk of collapse of the major national businesses and financial institutions, all with the backdrop of equally dangerous and intimidating international economic turmoil. The economic crisis has been fueled, (no pun intended), by the still looming energy shortages; despite sinking prices at the pump, there is still not enough energy to meet the world’s needs and those who provide it historically take total advantage of the laws of supply and demand.

In the meanwhile, the question of how to handle the sensitive issues surrounding illegal immigration simmers at the boiling point. The national election system and voting tabulation are in such a state of shambles that they threaten to undermine the very democratic foundations upon which the country was founded, through a growing sense of mistrust in the processes.

On the international front, a very nasty war is on the verge of erupting between Israel and Palestine, and a hawkish Iran seems determined to join the impending fracas with nuclear-armed missiles. Both Russia and China are flexing their muscles, and the anti-American rhetoric from South America is on the increase. While warlike activities in Iraq seem to be on the wane, Taliban activities in Afghanistan are on the upswing and the possibility of Pakistan siding with the Taliban increases every day. At the same time, chatter among Al Queda and other terrorist organizations is at an all-time international high.

It’s almost as if the lighting of a very small match could enflame the planet with World War III.

How the new President will want to deal with these things is actually immaterial. He has no war powers unless they are delegated to him by Congress. He cannot raise taxes, control the price of oil, or do much of anything else without the blessings of Congress. It can well be said that all of the hundreds of millions of dollars that were spent like water on the Presidential election campaigns did not empower the winner with one more iota of authority to do anything.

But, here’s the REAL cost of the election: Going into Tuesday, November 4th, our Congress was the lowest rated and most despised Congress in the history of the nation. Yet, with only a few insignificant changes, when November 4th ended we were left with the same Congressional players. That fact alone is sad commentary on the state of the electorate.

That, my fellow Americans, means that all of these major, big-time and very real problems are going to be decided by the same individuals in Congress who have presided over our nation for the past 20 years by doing nothing, cavorting a lot, and drinking the American public’s blood as if it were 120 proof alcohol. What this failure to turn out the bums, (and they are bums,) will eventually cost us remains to be seen.

The prospects are ominous.

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

THIS NATION LACKS THE FORTITUDE TO CHANGE ANYTHING!

We all know that, for the last 20 years, Congress has screwed this country badly. Through two Republican Administrations and one Democratic Administration, through all of the relative sessions of Congress and no matter who in was in the majority, we’ve created bad policy or no policy at all, we’ve lost esteem in the international community, we’ve put the world’s economy in dangerous jeopardy, just to mention a few of the myriad of problems that have either been created or ignored. And we know that Congress summarily ignored warnings that the housing segment was in big trouble and that they in fact encouraged the practice to continue.

On November 3^rd, our Congress had the lowest ratings in the history of this nation. On November 4^th, we reelected almost every damned one of them. On November 5^th, after being provided the Constitutional avenue to change 75% of them out, we awakened with the same Congress that has the lowest approval ratings in the history of the country.

We should be ashamed of ourselves.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

ON THE ELECTION

Special Report

Democracy has worked, albeit somewhat shabbily, I think. I hope that those in the position to do so will continue to investigate the questions behind this election, not so much to continue the rhetoric against Obama as to get the answers that we are entitled to know.

There are also things that need to be changed, such as the ability for foreigners to invest so heavily in our election process. They have no right to do so. And, the ability to "buy" an election needs to be stopped; it puts the country at the mercy of "big money." Another major concern is the influence that the media has been allowed to have in the selection process. I believe that they should be confined to unbiased and balanced reporting on the candidates with their right to voice opinions confined to opinion pages and clearly labeled opinion broadcast segments.

I have a sincere concern about the ability to perpetrate fraud in the counting of votes. In the 21st century, with all of the technologies we have available to us, we surely must have the ability to get fraud out of the system. What incentive do I have to vote if my vote will not be counted or illegal votes will be counted? I, for example, was never asked for identification; my signature was not compared to my signature on file. How many precincts could I have voted in?

The Republican party is beyond broken. It is in a shambles. If it is ever to be a major political party again, it must recruit and build strong leadership from within. McCain was a weak candidate and did not exude the basic, conservative principles of the party. Palin was a refreshing entry onto the national political scene but, let's face it; she needs more training and experience. Somehow, I think that the thought of having a soccer mom in the Presidency turned some people off.

We must be vigilant in the coming four years. There have already been some sinister implications, with Black Panther activity on election day and the soviet flag being displayed in front of the White House by groups celebrating the Obama victory. We who believe in our country must be constantly aware of what could be if Obama's associations have a purpose they feel that they can now fulfill.

This is America. We all love it for what it represents to us, including the fundamental values upon which it was built. We now have the fundamental responsibility to restore those values to the prominence in our daily lives and in our governing institutions which they, at one time, possessed. In doing so, we must strive to identify and nurture better candidates for the leadership of our great nation among all political parties.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

THE ELECTION IS OVER

I don't know about you, but I am going to have more than one good stiff drink!


That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, patriotically submitted.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE ELECTION

SPECIAL POST

THE ELECTION IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT YET VOTED. If you have already voted, you may be able to vote again if you live in any one of the “swing” states. That would depend on how many times you have registered. If you have any questions, contact your local ACORN representative.

Normally, at this point, you could say that it’s all over except for the shouting. Unless this election is a landslide, I think there is going to be one helluva lot of shouting on November 5^th, regardless of who wins.

There are already lessons to be learned from this election.

1. VOTER FRAUD in a country where we can electronically process millions of transactions per second, where we have fingerprint and biotech safeguard technology, is pure bull. Could it be that our elected officials don’t WANT to solve the problem?

2. WE AMERICANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. If they are not prepared to discuss their college, their religion, or their associates, or to prove their citizenship, they should be prohibited from running.

3. THE MEDIA should be absolutely barred from the insertion of opinion or political agendas into news reporting unless it is clearly labeled as “opinion.”

4. IT SHOULD BE AGAINST TO LAW TO ACCEPT FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS from any one, regardless of amount. No foreign nation or entity should be allowed to be in any position to influence the outcome a national election.

5. ONLY THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO SIGN AN AFFIDAVIT OR OATH OF HONESTY and to become an agent of the Voter Registrar’s Office should be allowed to sign up voters for registration.

6. NO POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RAISE MORE MONEY OR SPEND MORE MONEY than 200% of what they could receive from public funding.

7. NO POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DONATE MONEY TO, OR TO CONDUCT BUSINESS WITH, ANY INDIVIDUAL, FIRM OR ORGANIZATION THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE OFFICIAL ELECTION PROCESS.

These are alarm bells ringing. We know 1,000 times more about John Kerry or Al Gore or John McCain than we do about Barack Obama. There is a solid question about his citizenship and he has flatly refused the order of a Federal judge to produce a certified birth certificate. There is a birth certificate out there, I have seen it, there is no certification on it. Hawaii says they certify their birth certificates on the back, as opposed to the front as all of the rest of the states do. Yet, all we have is the front; why not show us the back and resolve the issue? The Federal judge gave the deadline, Obama let the deadline pass and did not produce.

Obama's family had no money; they were poor. He ended up in Occidental College which is an outstanding college in L.A., then went to Columbia then went to Harvard. Where did the money come from to put him through school? Scholarships? He won't answer. Now he has advanced to the point where he can personally give $1 million to his brother who is trying to obtain control of Kenya. Where is this money coming from? He won't answer. If it is on the up and up, what is there to hide? Would you hide anything under such scrutiny if you were on the up and up?

If there was nothing wrong with his association with Bill Ayers, why did he deny the association ever existed? If there was nothing wrong with his association with Rasdhid Khalidi, Tony Rezko, Joseph Albanaro...why deny they existed? Only when the facts were brought out did he admit well....yeah, I know the guy, he lives in my neighborhood...... when Rezko hosted a political party for him, (and so did Ayers in another party.... and that I have confirmed in the Chicago Times, an Obama supporter!) People who deny their associations remind me 100% of La Cosa Nostra.

This country has its heads buried in the sands because we have been screwed over by Congress and the White House and the Supreme Court for the last 20 years and now comes a smooth talking, handsome guy who says he is going to lead us all out of this mess and no one cares about WHO he is or WHERE he comes from or WHAT he believes in? This is not about party politics for me. If John Edwards was running against John McCain today, I'd vote for Edwards in a heartbeat.

This about America, an America that everyone seems content to let be run by incompetents. You have a Congress with the lowest approval rating in history and the polls say they are all going to be re-elected? WHAT RIGHT DO WE HAVE TO COMPLAIN IF WE REFUSE TO USE OUR POWER OF THE VOTE TO CHANGE OUT CONGRESS?

Obama admits openly today... listen to him talk.... we need to redistribute the money in this country from the rich. Nobody in this country is listening to what he openly says, and what he refuses to disclose. If you have something you are ashamed of, you hide it. He hides his associations, he hides his nativity, he denies us the right to know who he is.

This obscene giveaway of $700 billion plus the $85 billion that went before and the $300 billion more they are going to pass right after the election? You and all of the rest of the people who let the polls say, "That's okay...they may be assholes and the worst Congress we've ever had but we're going to vote them back in and we're going to cap it off by electing a President that we know SPIT about because he talks nice" are NOT Americans or you would step up to the plate and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

If speaking my American mind and standing by my love of this country costs me a friendship, so be it. Both sides of my family have been in this great land since the 1600's. I stand on the side of liberty, I stand on the side of justice, I stand with absolute patriotism in the bloods of my forefathers and when it comes to America, I will not ever let my guard down.

SHORT SHOTS – LOTS OF THEM

Now we know that Joe the Plumber owes $1,200 in taxes and that he doesn’t have a plumbing license. What do we know about Barack Obama?

How about putting all of the U.S. citizens’ names in a basket and we’ll draw one and that person will be the next President of the United States? Too risky? At least we’d know for sure that the winner was a United States Citizen….

Caylee Anthony is alive and living with Amelia Earhart.

They want to reinstate the “Fairness Doctrine” in broadcasting. The reasoning is that talk shows are one sided and monopolize too much air time. But, it will never work. If they reinstate it, NBC, CNN, CBS and those guys are going to having to broadcast Rush Limbaugh, Shawn Hannity and the gang to be “fair:” to their one-sided and opinionated broadcasting.

Why is everyone in the world except Joe Biden explaining what he said?

If Barack Obama’s grandmother is not even in the hospital, why does he intimate that she is on her death bed, and why does he take four days to get to her bedside?

Could it be that the reason the market is down is that they want the value of your 401k to decease before they quit giving you tax breaks on it?

Is there any truth to the rumor that Obama wants to take 10% out of every person’s savings account on the basis that the poor people don’t even have a savings account?

There is a better than a 60-40 chance that William “Bill” Ayers will end up on the front page of the next issue of TIME MAGAZINE.

WHYZIT that every time I put on my cowboy boots and by toes hurt, I think of ACORN and all of the hard work they did signing up all of those voters for registration?

Now that the Obama campaign has raised almost $700 million, maybe he’d consider making a 1% contribution toward the $700 billion that Congress just gave Paulson so that AIG Execs could party hearty. No? Shucks.

Did it ever occur to you that the reason Obama despises Sarah Palin is that she tends to cling to her guns and religion?

Is it possible that Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are going to meet in a secluded D.C. restaurant ion Tuesday to decide the future of the country, and that their conclusions will be delivered to Congress as a “Position Paper” right after the election?

Since Tony Rezko is in the can, what is going to happen to the rest of that parcel of land next to Obama’s house? Maybe they’ll plant cucumbers there….

WHYZIT that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid always look as if they’d just had a dose of alum for dessert?

Madeline Albright agrees with Joe Biden that Obama is going to have a serious national threat within six months? Don’t worry about that; Colin Powell will take care of it.

Is this race about race?

Barney Flintstone…..Franks, please excuse me…has already earmarked where Obama’s first tax increase is going to go….more social programs. I think he said something like $80 billion in the first year? Ah, yes. That lake under his Congressional seat is made of drool?

We don’t really need to worry about Obama and his so-called “terrorist connections.” It has recently been fully proven to us that the real terrorists are in Congress, but no one in this country has the guts to vote them out of office.

Remember to vote on November 4^th. ACORN is counting on you.

GET THE PICTURE?

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, Comrade!

SPECIAL POST

Congress wants another $300 billion? Pelosi says so, right now! Another stimulus package! Now, it's our fault, because we're not spending our hard-earned money.

AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!

I'VE MADE UP MY MIND: WHY I CHOOSE MCCAIN

Normally, picking a candidate to vote for is a "no-brainer;" you have a good candidate and one that's not so good. When you're lucky, which is rare these days, you have two great candidates and you have to really do some research to find out which one is going to represent your interests the best. In recent Presidential elections, it's been a matter of voting for the guy you disliked the least. And now, we come to a new twist, where you have two candidates that you just can't embrace no matter how hard you try.

I'm a registered Republican. That doesn't mean that I always vote the party line. I've voted for plenty of Democrats in my life. And, I'm admittedly a conservative, somewhat to the right of McCain and way to the right of Obama, who is as far left as you can go. There are some things that I have a more liberal view of than most Republicans and, no, I'm not a "moderate."

Before I go further into my reasoning for choosing McCain, I need to underscore the fact that I am not a die-hard Republican by telling you that I intend to vote against every incumbent at the California State level and in Congress, regardless of party. I don't think I need to explain why, except to say they've all strayed from their duties to me and to you and they have collectively brought this country to the very verge of disaster in so many ways that I don't have the space to0 elaborate. They're airheads, they're nincompoops, they're drunks, they're party-goers, they're do-nothings. They take kickbacks from failing financial houses. They have the lowest approval rating in the history of this country. They are all ugly, narcissistic bottom-feeders and they all need to go.

That having been said, why do I choose McCain?

Well, I was ready to quit the Republican party when he got the nomination. I was livid with rage, and to this day am still unhappy. Sarah Palin is a nice addition to the ticket and I think she will do well in her role and will live up to her promises to the best of her ability, but that has no impact on my decision. In fact, my decision is, I feel, very pragmatic.

We are facing, at the time of this writing, unprecedented financial peril. We have world-wide dangers lurking in the Middle East, with Korea, and now with Russia; we are already militarily committed to Iraq and Afghanistan. We have an immigration problem that has yet to be resolved. We have a national, and indeed a world-wide energy crisis and the growing probability that greenhouse emissions are having an adverse impact on global climate that could lead to disruptions in our food supplies and worse. We have an election system that's been besmirched by ACORN.

These are all issues of great magnitude that will have to be dealt with during the coming four years.

These are issues that require knowledge and judgment.

Barack Obama has never held a military position and has virtually no knowledge whatsoever of military strategy or capabilities. I'm not saying that McCain is an expert, but he certainly has had military experience; he comes from a military family and graduated from Annapolis. Barack Obama is a novice again when it comes to national finances and the economy, and McCain is certainly no genius in that respect, either. But, good managers can tap good and knowledgeable expertise to advise them. What we do know now is that Republican financial experts were sounding the alarm bells about our financial crisis a decade or more ago and the alarm bells were summarily dismissed by the Democratic financial leaders, so I would suspect that Obama's financial advisors as President would be less reliable than McCain's.

I don't agree with McCain's stance on immigration. It gives me heartburn every time I think about it. Obama's stance is much, much worse. The energy crisis needs both short-term and long term solutions, and McCain's strategy of drill now and reduce our reliance on foreign oil is sound strategy, as long as it is followed up with the investigation and research for viable alternatives.

So, on those points, I give the advantage to McCain. He does have a track record and we know, to a great degree, how he thinks. These are two critical things that Obama lacks.

As to the matter of judgment, we know only about Obama what we have been able to dig up through the limited research avenues and tools we have available. The Obama campaign has virtually shut down and closed out all of his past. That secrecy, in and of itself, tells me that Obama does not want to be open and honest with the American public. We all have skeletons in our closet, but the office of the Presidency of the leading nation of the world community demands that those skeletons be exposed and revealed. Obama refuses to do so.

So, we are left to wonder about his past, to wonder about how Jeremiah Wright can be the pastor at his wedding and his preacher for over 20 years and why it took national umbrage to get Barack Obama to eventually leave that church after 20 years. And, we have to wonder about William Ayers and Tony Rezko, and Farrakhan, Khalidi, Aramanda, the over 500 campaign contributions from Iran that Obama's camp is refusing to identify. Those things weigh heavily on me because Mr. Obama won't tell me about Occidental or Columbia or Harvard. Their weight is compounded by his adamant secrecy, and his judgment in refusing to open up tells me that his character and his loyalties are, at the very least, suspect.

I do not believe that this country can step into 2009 with a leader who refuses to tell us what we need and are entitled to know, who has no track record, and who is weak in two critical areas, (military and the economy).

I believe that, in the dangerous times we are facing in so many respects, we cannot take a chance on this man. Now is not the time to add another risk to the forces in the shark tank that might bring this country down.

I vote for John S. McCain.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

HOW TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN U.S. FINANCIAL & STOCK MARKETS

SPECIAL POST

THE WORST LEGISLATION IN U.S. HISTORY?

Do you realize what has just happened to us? Let’s go through the drill.

1) Back to at least 2003 that we already know of, those in charge of keeping their eyes on our nation’s financial affairs have been warning the House Committee that things were going astray and that big problems were looming, especially with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. And the Committee has been stonewalling. Led by Barney Frank, the Committee has practically been ordering those in charge to put out more and more money and they didn’t care if the deals were risky or not. In fact, someone very close to me who has been involved with the building industry recently related to me that mortgage companies weren’t even verifying income or credit, they were just funding mortgages. I don't know about you, but I got quite the grilling when I went through my last house purchase.

2) As recently as three months ago, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in so much trouble that only a blind man could miss it. Just a couple of weeks ago, our Secretary of the Treasury was telling us that everything was rosy, that we might have “a few bumps,” but that there was nothing to worry about.

3) The regulators needed to be issuing all kinds of findings against the investment companies and against Fannie and Freddie, but they were not. You might say that they were turning their eyes the other way. And, no one in Congress had the slightest clue that something was wrong? This led all of the way up to a declaration of an emergency by Paulson and Bush, and Congress had no idea what was coming? An emergency that had been brewing, undetected, that threatened to bring down the country unless we acted immediately? Is that dumb, or stupid?

4) The House looked at Paulson’s proposed emergency legislation and turned it down. The Senate then looked at it, added a few things for “window dressing,” added a whole pile of pork, over 400 pages of it, passed it and sent it to the House, with the President threatening Holy Hell on Earth if the House didn’t also pass it. So, the House passed it.

5) Congress, led by the Patriarchs of American Salvation, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, then issued forth a proclamation honoring those whose actions or inactions created the problem in the first place, anointing them with thanks for a “job well done.” And, President Bush waved his pious hand over the Bill and affixed his signature thereto, and now all is good and well in America.

Thank God for their insight and perseverance in protecting us. They even added a protective commission to ride herd on the financial houses in the future and to ensure us that “this could never happen again.” Guess what? They somehow neglected to provide this great commission, the great protector, with any power whatever to enforce sanctions or to address future violations of the public trust by our esteemed Fannie or Freddie or any other institution.

Isn’t that sweet? Doesn't that just make your lips pucker?

Now, let’s talk pork, pork, pork, pork, pork, pork, pork, pork. Don’t you feel really good down inside that we Americans just took on $700 billion in more debt and that everyone in Congress had kept solidly away from any verbiage that this will guarantee that the problems will go away? In fact, every last one of them who has been asked has coughed when asked that question and a few have admitted, reluctantly, that there are “no guarantees.”

But, there IS plenty of pork. TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE, (http://www.taxpayer.net/index.php) has managed to list a whole pile of pork added on to this emergency legislation that was so needed to save our country. Here are some samples:

Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children

Cost to taxpayers: $2 million

Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motor sports racing track facility

Cost to taxpayers: $100 million

Sec. 308. Increase in limit on carry over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Cost to Taxpayers: $192 million.

Sec 502. Provisions related to film and television productions

Cost to Taxpayers: $478 million (You really should go to their website to read up on this one)

Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters

Cost to Taxpayers: $10 million

And now, my fellow Americans, bend over for THIS one:

Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit

Cost to Taxpayers: $19 billion, (and yes, Microsoft, Boeing and Harley-Davidson get a chunk of this)

I don’t know about you, but this is how I feel about it:

Doesn't all of this make you wonder how long it took for members of Congress to get on over to Paulson's office to grab their share so they can try and go back to their states and buy some votes?

We Americans need to turn out every member of Congress that we possibly can, by voting against any and all incumbents in the November elections, regardless of political party. They're all in it, they're all tainted. We haven't had a decent Congress in over 20 years and these guys have just underlined the fact that they don't give a damned what we think or feel by shoving it way up there out of sight.

WE'RE REALLY GETTING THE SHAFT NOW! SENATE LIES ABOUT FINANCIAL BILL!

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We all know that Congress failed us on the job. We know that they have been worthless for over 20 years. Nevertheless, here we are with a gun to our heads.

Yes, we know that something has to be done. We understand the ramifications if we don't. But this "great, terrific rewrite" has done nothing for the vast majority of Americans except to stick them, and generations to come, with the bill.

"Oh, but we raised the FDIC Insurance from $100,000 to $250,000." Now, just what percentage of Americans did that move help? Joe Q. Public who lives from paycheck to paycheck? Bill Gates with billions? No, it helped who happened to have somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000 in the bank, and that's not a whole lot of people, percentage-wise.

Why did the damned Senate have to tack on all of those B.S. amendments? To obfuscate and confuse? If they were all that damned good and important, why weren't they passed on their own instead of on the back of a bill where we have a gun to our heads? And, at WHAT additional cost?

Reid congratulates himself and the Senate on their good work on sticking it to the American people to cover the fact that the Senate and the House of Representatives have collectively managed to pass the buck for their negligence and malfeasance to the American citizen?

450 pages can hide one helluva lot of dirty deeds. If the House is going to pass this, they need to peel those pieces of crap out of the Bill to be taken up on another day and let us, as Americans, see for ourselves, what is actually being shoved down our throats.

As far as I'm concerned, their 20 year past record leads me to believe they're still useless b.....ds. All of them.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.

THANKS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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Total eligible to vote: 435. Total voting: 433. Fantastic turnout. Vote was 226 against, 207 for the Senate bailout bill. It did not pass.

Now, let's find a better way to deal with this mess.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted

ANSWER TO FINANCIAL CRISIS: A Real Win-Win

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They can have their $700 Billion bailout and we'll even promise to dance in the streets in support of it.

All they have to do is withdraw from their re-election campaigns and promise never to run again. All of them.

Believe you me, it'll be worth it.

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted

WASHINGTON STINKS LIKE THE RANCID SCEPTIC CESSPOOL IT IS

HOW DARE THEY politicize this financial crisis while they stick an $800 billion bailout bill up our fannies?

HOW DARE they shave off the $85 billion they already gave to Bear Stearns to make us think it’s “only” $700 billion?

HOW DARE they have the unmitigated GALL to hopscotch around the halls of Congress making faces at each other and trying to make each other look bad while they are refusing to utter one damned word of apology to the American people for what they have allowed to happen? Not one of them has apologized; not one.

WHO IN THE HELL DO THOSE PIOUS POTENTATES THINK THEY ARE?

We just had the largest bank failure in American history and not one damned politician from either party has said one thing about it.

Washington’s outright lies, manipulations, maneuverings, and inconsiderate behavior toward the American people are beyond reprehensible. Have they no shame? If I were one of those nauseating souls I’d be afraid to go to church on Sunday, lest the roof fall in!

You have a Presidential candidate who has a vote and who represents a constituency of Illinois citizens, who left town and left them holding the bag without a voice and without a vote. He also left the millions of people who intend to vote for him in November without a voice. Caught with his proverbial pants down, he whined to the Senate Majority Leader for help, who promptly chastised the other Presidential candidate, also a sitting United States Senator, for showing up to stand up for his views and for the citizens of Arizona.

HOW DARE THEY CALL THEMSELVES SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE?

Here you have the Presidential debate and you have Obama consistently taking longer than his time and interrupting McCain while he is talking. This is the guy who snuck out of Washington so he wouldn’t have to take a stand on the financial crisis and wouldn’t have to vote on anything or offer any positions until everyone else was lined up. Frankly, I don’t like either one of the candidates. I’ve been upset ever since the primaries.

We’re obviously stuck with what we’ve got. I will say that Obama exemplifies what I have been talking about because, the ignorant, uncouth, undisciplined and tactless idiot kept interrupting McCain whenever McCain was scoring a point against him…talking over McCain, being rude and flatly obnoxious.

THOSE MEATHEADS IN WASHINGTON ALL THINK THE SAME WAY! AND THEY ALL STINK OF THE SAME PUTRID ODOR!

And, they expect us to all sit down and shut up?

We need to get rid of them, every last one of them. Regardless of party, they all need to go. They are a disgrace to us and our forefathers.

How DARE they call themselves “servants of the people?”

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted