Madoff Gets 150 Years, Sotomayor Overturned

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Bernard Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison

Madoff confessed to running a multibillion-dollar "Ponzi scheme" in which investors were paid returns from money paid by later investors.

• Proposed Bill would limit size of airline carry-ons
• High Court reverses Sotomayor in firefighter case
• Jackson's mother granted temporary guardianship of children

House Democrats Win Cap-and-Tax Energy Bill

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by Don White

Washington - It's bad news for conservatives and those of us who do not want to see our taxes skyrocket and jobs go overseas. Cap and Trade, better known as Cap and Tax, was approved in the House Friday night by a narrow 219-212 vote. Democrats got just one vote more than they needed, but are patting themselves on the back today for the sneaky way they ramrodded this bill through the House, which represents the biggest tax hike in the history of America.

On Shawn Hannity last night former Clinton chief of staff Dick Morris opined that the vote was a set-up. House leadership under Nancy Pelosi knew they had the votes to win, but they also knew if certain "conservative" Democrats voted for Cap and Trade it would hurt them in the 2010 elections, so they told those representatives to sit this one out and not vote. Now these lawmakers will be able to facetiously say that they voted against the bill. That would include lawmakers in swing states There were 9 such representatives from Indiana as follows. For you convenience, we also include the names and contact details for that state's two senators:

Member Name	DC Phone	DC FAX	Electronic Correspondence
Senator Richard G. Lugar (R- IN)	202-224-4814	202-228-0360	http://lugar.senate.gov/contact/
Senator Evan Bayh (D- IN)	202-224-5623	202-228-1377	http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/
Representative Peter J. Visclosky (D - 01)	202-225-2461	202-225-2493	http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Representative Joe Donnelly (D - 02)	202-225-3915	202-225-6798	http://donnelly.house.gov/issue_subscribe.shtml
Representative Mark Souder (R - 03)	202-225-4436	202-225-3479	http://souder.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Representative Steve Buyer (R - 04)	202-225-5037	202-225-2267	http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Representative Dan Burton (R - 05)	202-225-2276	202-225-0016	http://burton.house.gov/contacts/add/type:contact
Representative Mike Pence (R - 06)	202-225-3021	202-225-3382	https://forms.house.gov/pence/IMA/contact_form.htm
Representative Andre Carson (D - 07)	202-225-4011	202-225-5633	http://forms.house.gov/carson/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm
Representative Brad Ellsworth (D - 08)	202-225-4636	202-225-3284	http://www.ellsworth.house.gov/index.php? option=com_content& task=view&id=126&Itemid=
Representative Baron Hill (D - 09)	202-225-5315	202-226-6866	http://baronhill.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.shtml

Nancy Pelosi, Barak Obama, and Al Gore were able to cut enough deals and twist enough arms to impose cap-and-tax.

Someone asked about the huge tax receipts that will come in because of this tax. But there will be very little because 85 percent of it is already committed to such liberal states as California and Massachussetts to help bail them out of their financial fiascos. In other words, the whole nation will be bailing out states that did not use financial constraint and that let their arms be twisted so that they would either vote for cap and trade or not vote at all.

This is the worst kind of partisan politics ever. You help us get a bill passed and we'll help your state get some money. If you don't vote for us you don't get the money. Somehow, this writer just feels that kind of politics should be illegal -- using taxpayer (user's of utilities) money to swing sweetheart deals in congress. There must be a name for it but the best I can do is call it fraud. I hope we can prosecute those connected to this kind of "fraud." At least we should throw the traitors out of office in 2010 and 2012.

In return for the favor of money going to these states, these state's congressmen vote for the tax bill, including some republicans, unfortunately.

Pelosi, Obama, and Gore were able to cut enough deals and twist enough arms to impose cap-and-tax and help ruin each American homeowner's bottom line forever. The cost of electricity is expected to double in states that rely on fosil fuels, and that's most of the country.

Florida has approved another nuclear power plant, this time for Levy County, and energy companies like Progress Energy which supplies energy for 1.6 million homes in Central Florida had asked for and received a 30% rate increase to pay for it. Since the recession this has been leveled off to about half that number, however.

By the way, Did you see the price tag of socialized health care? $3.5 TRILLION over 10 yrs is the projected cost of the Democrats latest plan.

Where Republicans went wrong was overconfidence. This may have kept conservatives off the phone lines Friday. The Free Republic blog is indicative of the erroneous count thinking before the vote last night. Here's what it said before the vote:

"The vote on the cap and trade energy bill is coming up in congress. It does not look like supporters have enough votes at this time to pass the bill. It seems that some Democrats are worried about the bill putting a huge tax burden on the country that could cripple the economy. That is my concern. I don’t feel that the cap and trade bill is the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Bungalow Bill's Conservative Wisdom wasn't buying that, however, as late as Friday afternoon before the vote. This is what they said:

I am sad to say there are Republicans prepared to vote for higher energy rates as the government moves towards controlling a naturally occurring gas—carbon dioxide. The Republicans leaning towards voting for cap and trade are:Mary Bono Mack of California (and you know why)
Mike Castle of Delaware
Vernon Ehlers of Michigan
Mark Kirk of Illinois
Dave Reichert of Washington"...

These people need to lose their any Republican leadership roles in the House if they in fact vote for Pelosi and the Democrats bill to American energy disaster."

In Orlando, Dan Spencer of Examiner.com had this to say about the skulduggery, hankey panky, deceit and outright dishonesty that was used by Obama's democrats to get this bill passed. Spencer said they used dilatory tactics, "such as posting the "final" version of a 1,200 page bill the night before the vote, issuing a 300 page amendment to the 1,200 page bill after 3:00 a.m., and allowing only five hours of debate . . ."

Do you recall Obama's statement about what this bill will do to homeowner's electric bills? He said it will cause electricity rates to "necessarily skyrocket" and will bankrupt anyone who builds a coal-powered plant.

Spencer and all the rest of us are still wondering today "what is hidden in all those pages that no Representative really had a chance to read, let alone study, that made the Democrats so determined to avoid a real honest to goodness debate."

And why at 3 a.m. Friday morning was there a 300-page amendment to the bill. What did that say?

All of us ought to flood the phone lines of those seven Republicans who did not vote against this bill. They could have defeated it, but chose not to vote so they could say they did no harm -- and at the same time their states receive the "Obama bribery money."

When is "right right and wrong wrong? When will men and women of good conscience stand up and be counted. I guess at least those 212 or so Republicans and Dems who voted against the bill can be counted as honest people.

The Dasterly Seven:

Phone & Fax for repubs NO VOTES Republicans Phone Fax BonoMack 202-225-5330 202-225-2961 Castle 202-225-2291 202-225-2291 McHugh 202-225-4611 202-226-0621 LoBiondo 202-225-6572 202-225-3318 Lance 202) 225-5361 202) 225-9460 Reichert 202) 225-7761 202) 225-4282 Smith 202) 225-3765 202) 225-7768

Nothing Will Stop Iran's Uprising, Not Even Obama

Phares: Iran Uprising Won't Be Stopped

Sunday, June 21, 2009 12:30 PM By: Walid Phares

Why did the Grand Ayatollah Khamenei decide to suppress demonstrations and not order a reorganization of new elections to solve the crisis? What is the analysis inside the Khamanei/Ahmedinijad “war room”? Based on several assessments, it appears that the regime feels the protest movement is too wide and too determined to allow it to expand further. The ayatollahs in charge of the “revolution” and the top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards as well as their financial operatives fear a popular shift inside Iran’s population along the magnitude of East Europe’s revolution against Soviet rule. The most cataclysmic parallel would be with the fall of Romanian communist dictatorship under Ceausescu. Even a change a la Gorbachev is too dangerous for the elite that ruled Iran with an iron fist for three decades. Hence, after a minute calculus, the top mullahs and their militia barons have decided not to open Pandora’s box to bring reform or democracy to their own world. And, the world should expect them to use all the power at their disposal to do away with the demonstrations and its leaders. But how will the Khomeinist “war room” break up the uprising? What is their plan? One would assume that after a thorough review of the real opposing forces on the ground, and after having secured what they believe is a solid allegiance by the Pasdaran and Bassij commanders along with assurances they may have obtained that Iran’s armed forces will remain distant from the crackdown, the regime will proceed in several directions: Put pressure on Musavi and the leading reformer figures such as Rafsanjani and Khatemi Deploying the militias and security forces across the capital and in other cities Taking back Tehran block after block while trying to avoid an international media backlash Arrest and neutralize student and civil society leaders; and at the same time, insure that Western Government, particularly the United States would remain distant from “meddling in Iran’s business.” So what would be the opposition’s plan? What are the hopes and projections of Musavi and his supporters? The former prime minister and his allies might wish that Khamenei and the supreme Council would find a better solution which would allow a negotiated solution and a lasting settlement. He wants to defeat Ahmedinijad but not, no yet anyway, bring down the regime. However, there is more than one “opposition” group in the country and the most daring groups have already taken to the streets to resist the Ayatollahs and bring a real change — not to recount the votes. Thus, one has to expect a long haul for the opposition. But is it true that a strong U.S. position in favor of the Iranian democracy movement would create a backlash against America? The reality is that those who are advancing this argument are in fact trying to shield the Iranian regime in the West. The Khomeinist propaganda machine is unleashing all doubts possible about international support to the demonstrators. In fact, the tipping point against the ayatollahs’s militias is precisely a world outcry in defense of the uprising. Presently there are no neutral Iranians who could be irritated by American or Western verbal support to democracy in Iran. The argument is inserted in the debate to confuse the public and mollify outside solidarity. What can shift the ground against the oppressive Pasdaran is precisely this, if a wide majority of Iranians feel the international community is, at least morally, on their side. The militias will try to suppress the masses, but the latter may take the struggle to a higher ground and perform strikes that paralyze the country. In short, this time the Khomeinists won’t have it easily. Too much power and wealth has disconnected them from their citizens. Iran’s youth is at the vanguard of huge disenfranchised segments of society including women, workers, and ethnic minorities. The largest segments of the population haven’t joind the clash yet. Our bet from the sociological sample we’ve seen is that when that happens, an earthquake may occur. The ayatollahs and their extended clientele are rushing the regime’s army to crush the revolt in the womb. Badly advised in the past, the U.S. administration is still hesitant to engage with its real future partner, the people. But a chain of developments inside Iran may change opinions across the Potomac. We sincerely hope Washington would catch up with the change coming from the East, faster. Dr. Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the author of “The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad.” He published “The Khomeinist Islamic Revolution” in Arabic in 1987.

Why Does Obama Refuse To Be Leader of The Free World?

What If Iran Was America?

By Don White

The Ayatollah seems to be praying, but he is also delivering a sermon. He refuses to hold another election, despite protesters.

Where Was Obama When Iran Wanted Democracy?

By Don White

Here’s a story out of Iran, one of resistance to compromise by the Mullahs and their subservient political leaders. For that is the system in Iran. You can have elections, but they are not free in the sense that free people get their wishes.

As you read this article, imagine how Americans would handle this same situation because it may come down to this. Would we in America be passive onlookers, watching pro-Obama NBC, ABC, CNN news channels for the president’s propaganda, drinking it all in like passive pussy cats? Or would we be marching in the streets as patriots, much like the Iranian people who oppose tyranny, even when it is found in their clergy?

Americans can learn much from these brave Iranian people. If only we had a patriotic president who would speak out strongly in favor of the people of the world – especially Iranians right now – who want to remove the yoke of tyranny off their shoulders. If only Obama wasn’t so much like Ahmadinejad and the ruthless Ayatollah Khameni who cloak their wickedness in cleric clothes and hide their own wicked designs in specious rhetoric and hollow words.

Fast Forward

Fast forward three or four years, after Barak Obama has substantially changed the United States, overrunning and overriding Constitutional law and the Bill of Rights – outlawing Congress and the Supreme Court. By then he will have disbanded state governments and outlawed their supreme courts, along with county and city governments. He will have removed representative government from the people and taken it to Washington, growing Washington three fold.

Picture Barak Obama Being All Powerful

Assume that by executive order Barak Obama has consolidated all power to himself, declaring that the states are now subservient to national law which is set by one man, Barak Obama.

Imagine what we Americans would do if in a few years we find Obama has set himself up as America’s Ayatollah Ali Khameni, except he will be known as Ayatollah Barak Hussein Obama, with all power invested in him. Free elections will be a thing of the past. Communist-style elections will prevail, the same elections you saw in Iran recently where there were several popular candidates for president and one of them wasn’t Mamoud Ahmadinejad, but where the Ayatollah can decide that the least popular willl be president and if anyone challenges that result they will be jailed or killed.

Study The Above Photograph

Look at the photograph above of the Iranian religious and secular leaders including the Ayatollah left front and Ahmadinejad on the back row. Place Obama’s picture where Ayatolla stands and his vice president, Joe Biden, where Ahmadinejad stands. Throughout the picture are all top Democrats including Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and if you will, Barbara Boxer, Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, Chris Dodd, Charlie Rangle, and others. They are praying, but to whom? It could appear that they are praying to Obama who is chanting something, or is he orating?

The purpose of this meeting is to solidify the thoughts of all the Democrat leaders against the rest of the country regarding a disputed election in America. In a long and hard-line sermon, Obama is declaring the elections valid and is warning of violence if demonstrations continue.

Would Americans Demonstrate As Iranians Have?

Would Tehran be any different than Washington, where Americans from throughout the country would come to demonstrate their disgust for the fraudulent Obama elections where Joe Biden was elected Vice President – or maybe president, because by this time Obama is something far greater than a mere president, he is a cleric, a man of the cloth of his own making, the supreme leader?

Assume the same result for America as in Iran: Obama has declared the elections valid and warned of violence if demonstrators continued, as pledged by demonstrators, to flood the streets in defiance of the government.

It’s Almost Unthinkable: To Have A Dictator When 41 Percent Are Conservatives

Imagine that Obama is speaking to Republicans and particularly to Conservatives who a June, 2009 Gallop poll indicated comprised 41 percent of the electorate while only 21 percent were liberals.

“Opposition leaders who fail to halt the protests will be responsible for bloodshed and chaos.” Turning phrases around to make the good guys look like the bad guys is quite common in the Obama administration.

In Tehran those same words by the Ayatollah dashed hopes for a peaceful solution to what defeated candidates and protesters called a fraudulent election last week, plunging Iran into its gravest crisis since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Here’s Obama’s Ayatollah Speech

Continuing with Obama’s Ayatollah speech: “Flexing muscles on the streets after the election is not right: It means challenging the elections and democracy. (Isn’t that an interesting turn of phrase. The guy who threw the elections, the Ayatollah, is saying people are challenging elections and democracy, while it’s just the other way around. Democracy demands the will of the people be satisfied. In Iran’s case, the people are now being heard because they didn’t vote for that dictator Ahmadinejad. Now the Ayatollah is promising retribution if they continue to speak up and demonstrate and he’s saying they are challenging democracy when it is the Ayatollah who is the thief in the night challenging democracy. We’ve heard this same logic before -- from Obama) If they don’t stop, the consequences of the chaos would be their responsibility.”

But opposition leaders, who stayed home Friday, called for yet another huge rally on Saturday afternoon, setting the stage for a possible showdown between protesters and security forces, perhaps a violent one.

The sermon put Ayatollah Khamenei, who prefers to govern quietly and from behind the scenes, at the forefront of a confrontation not only among factions of the government but among Iranians themselves. Like Obama, the Ayatollah is on the wrong side of history.

It also presents Mir Hussein Moussavi, (whom we will call Mitt Romney just to get an American perspective) whom the opposition says was the real winner of last Friday’s elections, with an excruciating choice. The former prime minister and long-time insider must decide whether to escalate his challenge to Iran’s supreme leader and risk a bloody showdown, or abandon his support for a popular uprising that his candidacy inspired.

Imagine, if you will, Barak Obama’s name where we find the Ayatollah’s in the following: During the tough sermon, Ayatollah Khamenei (Obama) tried to tamp down factional disputes among the elite, at one point even chastising pro-government militias and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Joe Biden) for their role in the crisis. But he hardened his stance on the election results. On Monday, a crowd that the mayor of Tehran (Washington) estimated at three million rallied for the first of four days, and Ayatollah Khamenei (Obama) ordered an investigation into the election results, which declared Mr. Ahmadinejad (Joe Biden) the winner, with 63 percent to Mr. Moussavi’s (Mitt Romney’s) 34 percent. Then on Wednesday, the government invited Mr. Moussavi (Romney) and the other two presidential candidates to meet with the Guardian Council, the powerful body that oversees the elections.

But the Ayatollah (Obama) said Friday that there was nothing to discuss, as he again endorsed the victory of Mr. Ahmadinejad (Joe Biden), seated in the audience, and called the elections “an epic moment that has become a historic moment.” He dismissed allegations of fraud.

“Perhaps 100,000 votes, or 500,000, but how can anyone tamper with 11 million votes?” he asked as the crowd burst into laughter. “If the political elite ignore the law — whether they want it or not — they would be responsible for the bloodshed and chaos,” he said.

He added that foreign agents (for America that would be Russia, China, and North Korea) were behind the street unrests and that there were efforts to stage a “velvet revolution.”

“They thought Iran is Georgia,” he said, adding, “Their problem is that they don’t know this great nation yet.”

Tens of thousands of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s (Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats) supporters gathered for the sermon. Television showed the streets filled with people near Tehran University.

There was no immediate reaction from Mehdi Karroubi, (Judd Gregg) another presidential candidate who accused the government of fraud. Many analysts and aides to Mr. Moussavi (Romney) have been arrested and were not available for comments. But the human rights group Amnesty International warned that Ayatollah Khamenei’s (Obama’s) speech indicated that the authorities were willing to conduct a violent crackdown.

“We are extremely disturbed at statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei (Obama) which seem to give the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views,” the group said in a statement.

In a letter on Friday, Mr. Karroubi (Gregg) urged the Guardian Council to nullify the elections. “This is not the demand of an individual, it is the demand of the people,” he wrote in a letter posted on his Web site. “I warn you that insulting people would only intensify their rage.”

The council is expected to meet with the three presidential candidates on Saturday. Web sites associated with both Mr. Moussavi and Mr. Karroubi said that the large rally scheduled for Saturday was still on. In Paris, a friend of Mr. Moussavi’s who said he was acting as his spokesman said Friday that Ayatollah Khamenei’s statements would be met by large demonstrations.

“What happened is beyond cheating,” the friend, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a film director, said in a hastily organized news conference in Paris. “Since Friday, a 30-year-old page was turned. We’ve fallen into dictatorship. For the first time in 30 years there have been grass-roots demonstrations with millions of people, and these demonstrations stand as a proof that people want democracy.” His daughter Samira, also a filmmaker, said, “Until Friday we had 80 percent dictatorship and 20 percent democracy, and since Friday we have 100 percent dictatorship.”

North Korea Has Declared War on U.S.

You might wonder what President Obama is doing? He has beefed up Hawaii's anti missile defense system.
I would hope also that maybe he has ordered some ships to respond in that area.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
In hard news, North Korea has declared war on America, and President Obama seems to have no

answers. Apparently Kim Jong Il does not read the Jayson Blair Times at wine and cheese

parties. The two kidnapped American girls must be brought home immediately.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/north-korea-wages-war-against-america/ 

In Israel, the Knesset has finally had enough. They are advocating a bold proposal for dealing

with the Palesimians that I love. 

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/the-knesset-gets-bold/

A recent example of Ideological Bigotry came from Playboy. It takes a lot for a single man

to be angry at playboy, but their abusive column towards some of the loveliest conservative

women on Earth was beyond the pale, even for them.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/ideological-bigotry-part-xxi-playboy-screws-itself/

Brian Hoffman produced a fun movie satirizing wine snobs. It is entitled "Corked."

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/corked/

On the domestic policy front, the Reich has declared war again, but this has nothing to do

with the Holocaust or Germany.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/the-reich-declares-war-again/

As for Barack Obama, he is a man, not a movement.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/barack-obama-man-not-movement/

In bizarre political news, I still can't figure out why New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was

found swimming in my swimming pool. I wish he would leave.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/governor-corzine-please-vacate-my-swimming-pool/

Myspace and Facebook were bad enough. We now have the apocalypse, known as Twitter. We are

becoming the nation of Narcissista, a bunch of self-absorbed Twit(terer)s.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/becoming-a-nation-of-twittererss/

Every other political issue under the sun was covered here.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/short-shrift-saturday/

Congratulations to Conan O'Brien, who succeeds without the nastiness of his competitor.

Johnny Carson would approve.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/congratulations-conan/

Most importantly, attached are a bunch of links of events that others are working on. Please

send me your events and I will happily promote them.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/chicago-link-love-sunday/

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2009/06/los-angeles-link-love-tuesday/

eric aka the Tygrrrr Express

Don't Celebrate Yet:This Recession Isn't Over

It's Far From Over
by Claus Vogt

The crisis is over, or nearly so, say Wall Street and the huge majority of bulls. All those economists, central bankers and analysts, who didn't see this crisis coming and who underestimated its severity all the way down, are sure that the worst is over now.

Should you believe them?

All these "green shoots" as of late may turn out to be harbingers of a trend change for the better in the economy. That's indeed a possibility. Or they may just be a passing flare as were similar developments during the 1930s. This latter scenario is much more probable. Let's look at why ...

The U.S. Labor Market
Is Still Very Weak

Nonfarm payrolls for May fell by 345,000. This was considerably better than the expected loss of 520,000. And it was much better than in April (-504,000), March (-652,000), February (-681,000), and January
(-741,000). The bulls took this latest figure as a sure sign of an impending end of the recession.

May's job-loss number sure as heck isn't worth cheering over.

Not so fast ...

First, 345,000 lost jobs are nothing to brag about. Just because there were more job losses in the months before doesn't turn it into good news. History agrees: Looking back at the worst point of the 2001 recession, payrolls shrank by 325,000. And this was right after 9/11. In the 1990/91 recession the worst payroll figure came in with a loss of 306,000. So the latest number sure as heck isn't worth cheering over.

Second, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses a model to estimate what may be going on in those parts of the labor market where the statisticians do not get data. This Birth/Death Adjustment Model pertains to small and new corporations in 10 non-farm supersectors, including leisure and hospitality.

This model said 220,000 new jobs were added in May.

In fact, the BLS even assumed that 7,000 financial service jobs and 43,000 construction jobs were created. This is highly unlikely because in the other part of the BLS report, where real data are available, both sectors showed job losses of 89,000. This discrepancy does not make any sense whatsoever!

And interestingly, this dubious plug factor has grown by 27 percent year-over-year.

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The problem is that the Birth/Death figure cannot be verified since it was modeled. If we assume it's bogus, 565,000 jobs were actually lost in May!

Third, there is another important statistic pertaining to the condition of the labor market: Aggregate-hours worked. This index fell 0.7 percent in May after a 0.3 percent drop in April. So there's definitely no "green shoot" there.

Fourth, the unemployment rate rose to 9.4 percent in May, up from 8.9 percent in April. In a garden variety recession the unemployment rate is a lagging indicator. But not so in a post-bubble economy where debt problems are the major drivers of the down turn. Furthermore, unemployment has a big influence on mortgage and consumer delinquency rates.

Where Will A Recovery Come From?

Again, this is not a garden variety recession. The current problems stemming from a burst real estate bubble, over indebtedness and huge wealth destruction are much bigger than typical concomitants of recessions. The longevity of typical post-bubble problems argues strongly against a quick recovery.

Don't expect a pent up demand for housing to lead us out of the recession.

To end recessions and lead the way to recovery there have been three typical developments:

1. Pent up demand for housing led to a strong revival of the real estate market and invigorated construction. Don't expect this to happen right after the country's largest real estate bubble burst.
   
   
2. Pent up demand for automobiles played another important role in digging the economy out of a recession. This time around, though, the U.S. auto industry is in shatters.
   
   
3. After short recessionary dips, consumption reemerged strongly by means of surging consumer credit balances. Now the saving rate is surging, and demographics argue strongly that this is just the beginning of a long-term trend.

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Yes, the economy isn't contracting as much as it was a few months ago. But the probability of this "less bad" economy evolving into a recovery is very low.

The stock market has already fully embraced the strong recovery scenario. However, "less bad" has to turn into something "really good" soon. Otherwise a huge disappointment will suck the stock market down the drain.

Honesty: When Did Government Convert Over?

Since when did Barak Obama and his Democratically controlled Congress convert to honesty? They are the most dishonest, least transparent administration I can recall. There is a negative buzz that surrounds anything Obama Press Secretary, William Gibbs, tries to say publically.

I say "Gibbs, tries to say..." because he is the worst public speaker anyone could choose to interact with the press.

The following news story shows what thousands of emails and letters to Washington can do. People are just not wanting a government dominated health care system. Plain and simple -- WE DON'T LIKE SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, NOW OR EVER!
____________________________________________________

Obama Stumps for Health-Care Reform

With President on the Road, Senators Explore Alternatives to Government-Run Plan

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By Michael A. Fletcher and Shailagh Murray

Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 12, 2009

GREEN BAY, Wis., June 11 -- As President Obama traveled to the heartland to sell a government-run insurance plan as essential to health-care reform, Senate negotiators began to explore a possible bipartisan compromise modeled after rural cooperatives.

Creating a "public option" to compete with private coverage has emerged as a significant hurdle as Congress begins to debate legislation to restructure the nation's health-care system, with the aim of delivering a bill to Obama by mid-October. Opponents include most Republicans and some moderate Democrats, who warn that the government would enjoy an unfair cost advantage and force private insurers out of business.

But many lawmakers who are skeptical of a federal plan expressed interest in an alternative proposal by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), to create member-run health-care cooperatives. The co-op approach was discussed by Obama and Senate health-care negotiators at a White House meeting on Wednesday, participants said. And on Thursday, the idea dominated a closed-door meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, one of two panels involved in crafting the Senate bill.

Obama told supporters in a local gymnasium here that he would seek to create a health-insurance exchange to allow one-stop shopping. But the president added: "One of the options in the exchange should be a public insurance option -- because if the private insurance companies have to compete with a public option, it will keep them honest and help keep prices down."

The Conrad proposal is modeled after rural electricity, farming and telephone cooperatives that are owned and organized by members. The entities would negotiate rates with health-care providers and would have to meet the same licensing and regulatory requirements as private insurance companies, the senator said.

"I tried to come up with something that is not government-controlled, is a competitive delivery model, but nonprofit," Conrad said in an interview. "It would be on a level playing field with everybody else with, with a different ownership structure."

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), the ranking Republican on the finance panel, said he likes the Conrad plan, and said Obama raised no objections when the issue surfaced at the Wednesday White House meeting. Sen. Mike Enzi (Wyo.), the ranking Republican on the Senate health committee, the other panel with jurisdiction over reform legislation, said he is seeking more details. He said the co-op approach could "increase the level of competition, if it were done right."

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), a member of the Democratic leadership and the Finance Committee, said he is helping to negotiate a deal that would be acceptable to Democrats who favor direct government intervention.

Schumer said he objected to setting up smaller organizations around the country, and instead favored at least one national co-op to compete against the big insurers.

"It has to have clout, it has to be large. . . . There would at least be one national model that could go all over the country," Schumer said. It also would require "a large infusion of federal dollars" at the outset, he said, declining to cite figures.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) said he is dubious of Conrad's co-op model and is instead offering his own alternative that would pay providers Medicare rates for the first two years and then go to negotiated rates. It would be self-financed, through premiums, and be required to meet standard laws on contingency reserves.

"Private insurance companies want to have their cake and eat it, too," he said. "They want health-care reform to earn them maximum profits if they start covering millions of uninsured Americans, but they are not willing to abide by the fair rules, oversight and cost containment that Americans deserve."

Obama's "Tax The Rich" Is Outright Dumb!

The reason I say it's dumb to raise taxes on rich, successful "American" companies is that other countries are not resorting to tax increases during this recession so what's to stop IBM, Microsoft, and others from moving their home offices to countries like India, Italy, or Brazil?

Tony Sagami's take on this issue is what other smart people are saying. The new trillion-dollar health plan is a plan to wreck America, because where's the money coming from? American industry that haven't taken bailouts, that's who. That would have the net effect of drastically weakening our tax base and destroying America because these top American company leaders are dead serious. They would rather take the company away from America than pay exorbatant taxes, wouldn't you? . Now do you know why it's dumb to raise taxes on the rich? Read my friend Tony Sagami's article below. Don White

Penalize Success, Subsidize Failure?
by Tony Sagami

Since the market topped in 2007, I've written over and over about the major causes of the implosion — the multi-billion-dollar trade deficits, the tanking U.S. dollar, the lax lending practices, and the Fed's low interest rate policy.

All of these factors and more led to overpriced U.S. stocks and a massive U.S. real estate bubble that popped hard.

Then came the multi-trillion dollar government spending spree to keep the economy moving.

But the drags on our economy remain in full force and have yet to play themselves out. Even worse there is a new threat to your portfolio that could pull the Dow Jones down to new lows and could push this painful recession into a full-blown depression.

Government Tax Grab
Rewards Failure

The threat I am talking about is President Obama's tax grab that is designed to reward failure. It bails out General Motors, Chrysler, AIG, and bank after bank, while raising the taxes on our most productive businesses and individuals.

The math is simple and irrefutable. Our government is spending so much money that it has to raise revenues wherever it can. The easiest targets are the evil, rich corporations and high-income Americans.

First it was the evil big oil companies, then terrible banks, and then the pollution-spitting auto companies, all labeled in various ways as enemies of the people.

What I see is a repressive anti-business government that is seizing control of American companies, setting wages and compensation for private Americans, and raising taxes everywhere it can.

The newest target of this policy is America's high tech industry, but they aren't taking the tax attack without a fight.

Here's what I'm talking about. The current tax code permits American companies to defer paying corporate tax rates as high as 35 percent on most types of foreign profits as long as that money remains invested overseas.

The Obama administration wants to end the ability to keep foreign profits tax-deferred in hopes that these global companies will return the profits back to the United States.

For example, Microsoft paid an overall tax rate of 26 percent in 2008. Its annual report states, "Our effective tax rates are less than the statutory tax rate due to foreign earnings taxed at lower rates."

The CEOs of Microsoft and Symantec, two of America's largest tech companies, are none too happy with Obama's plan to raise their taxes because of their foreign business.

In 2008, Microsoft had 95,029 employees worldwide, with 56,552 or 59 percent of them based in the U.S. and 38,477 (about 41 percent) based outside the U.S.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says it is his company's "fiduciary responsibility" to shift jobs out of the United States to countries with lower corporate taxes.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said it is his "fiduciary responsibility" to shareholders to shift jobs out of the United States to other countries with lower corporate tax rates.

Ballmer also states that if Obama's proposal to raise taxes on Microsoft's foreign divisions is approved, "We're better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S."

John Thompson of Symantec, the California-based maker of Norton anti-virus software, doesn't like the taxes either, but he also takes offense to the name-calling.

Software companies are frustrated by being called tax cheats and compared with companies that moved their headquarters to low-tax countries such as Bermuda.

It is a little bit ironic that most of our most significant trading partners and partners globally have taken the tack that they'll reduce corporate tax rates to stimulate economic growth and not raise corporate tax rates," Thompson said.

IBM does business in 170 countries and employs 278,227 workers outside of the U.S. and 120,227 in the U.S. Think about that: IBM has more than twice as many workers outside the U.S. as it does inside the U.S.

Since IBM does business in 170 countries, I think it would be more accurate to call IBM a global corporation that happens to be based in the United States instead of a U.S. company with overseas subsidiaries.

And I certainly wouldn't call Microsoft, Symantec, or IBM tax cheats for exploiting tax loopholes.

Increased Corporate Taxes
Will Hit U.S. Companies Hard

Name calling aside, what really matters is that the increased taxes will cost America's multi-national companies a mountain of money. The Obama administration itself expects to raise an additional $190 billion in taxes.

Before you say 'big deal,' you should ask yourself: What will those additional taxes do to corporate America's profits? The answer is it will hit them hard.

Don't take my word for it. Microsoft's Ballmer estimated that higher taxes on foreign income will reduce profits for 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 10 percent to 15 percent.

Yup ... 10 percent to 15 percent!

By the way, there are some winners from this tax increase: The Indian IT outsource companies such as Infosys (INFY), Wipro (WIT), and Satyam Computer (SAY).

Obama Should Listen To Zimbabwe's Prime Minister

Obama to welcome Zimbabwe's prime minister

By Don White

Usually when a visiting African prime minister comes to the White House, he comes away with more information and enlightenment than he brings. Unfortunately, this will not be the case Friday when Barak Obama meets with Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr. Obama should listen intently because this poor African nation has the world's worst economy and it's highest rate of inflation. Morgan Tsvangirai will tell Obama how his country got there -- by spending vastly more than it took in. If that sounds vaguely familier, you and I are thinking the same thing. Obama has spent vastly more than he can ever expect the government to take in, with a deficit expected to reach $3.7 Trillion for this year alone and close to ten trillion in 2018.

Before Obama is sworn in for a second term, heaven forbid, he will go to Zimbabwe asking for advice on how to get out of this economic slide put us through? We don't believe he will ask any such advice on Friday. Obama is too prideful to do that. Wait, just wait.

There will be a day when he will crawl on his knees to Mr. Tsvangirai for such advice -- after America has gone through the worst four years of its history, all under Obama.

President Hussein Obama (I predict as a ploy to gain Muslim support in the Islamic world he will start going by his middle name exclusively, and he is already using the Hussein name) will by then have nationalized every American business, raised taxes to the limit on some people 90 percent and driven many good American job-creating businesses out of the country. By then, thank God, we won't have Obama for president, but it will be hard to dial back the America we once knew, though not impossible if people wake up -- especially Democrats who can never seem to fault the guilty Barak Hussein Obama for anything.

Democrats and Republicans can debate whose recession it is -- George Bush's or Barak Obama's -- until they are blue in the face. But one thing is clear, an inexperienced Barak Obama made things terribly worse with his penchant for growing government and seeing this as an opportunity to do so.

One must remember, the overreaction to a recession is what got us here and that is entirely Obama's doing. In this way, he is as much a traitor as Alger Hiss, because I believe it can be proved he intended to bring America to its knees. Upon leaving office, or before, the man should be tried for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Here's the AP story about the country whose prime minister will visit the U.S. on Friday, June 12, 2009.

Just how bad is the economy of this backward Zimbabwe country? Just bad enough to take 16 billion Zimbabwe dollars to buy a loaf of bread, that's how bad.

Washington - AP- President Barack Obama will welcome the prime minister of Zimbabwe to the White House on Friday.The White House said Monday that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (SVAHNG'-ur-eye) will meet with Obama in the Oval Office to discuss how they can create a stable democratic future for Zimbabwe. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the United States wants to return the African nation to the rule of law, restore human rights and support free and fair elections.

(Maybe Obama should restore free and fair elections to the U.S., too, following that bad performance on the part of ACORN and Obama's sponsored cheating at the polls in the last election here in America)

Tsvangirai is on a three-week trip saying he is seeking re-engagement. Western leaders have long isolated Zimbabwe, accusing President Robert Mugabe of trampling on democracy and ruining a once-vibrant economy.

Political fights delay passage of war-funding bill

Supreme Court delays Chrysler's sale to Fiat

US sees hope in Lebanese election

Correction: Cuba Spies-PDamage story Supreme, Court weighs in on campaign contributions Gibbs: 2 convicted journalists are innocent,

• Flight 1549: The miracle that almost wasn't

• White House defends optimistic stimulus model

• White House says South Korean president to visit

• DNA shows jet that landed in Hudson struck migrating geese

• Court to decide if bankruptcy law stifles lawyers

US pressing for UN action on NKorea nuclear trade
War funding bill gets sidetracked
Supreme Court delays Chrysler sale
DNA shows jet that landed in Hudson struck migrating geese
Capitol visitor center evacuated for package
Why it's good to be a dreamer: Solutions often come during sleep, study finds
Ed secretary: judge teachers on how students do
Bill gives FDA controls over tobacco advances
Obama to welcome Zimbabwe's prime minister

Gaithner and US Dollar Laughed At In China

You can't lie to the Chinese. You shouldn't even try to make red look like black. But that is what Treasury Secretary Timoth Gaithner tried to do with the Chinese over the strength of our US dollar. They laughed him off the stage. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you can't go to your major creditor and outright try to spoof them over how strong you are. Gaithner was engaged in a little Obama-like puffing, or should we call it spoofing, and one Chinese started laughing at him. Soon it was the entire audience lauging at this Obama front man. Soon I predict when Obama goes to a place he expects money and investment from, he, too, will get laughed off the stage and he won't be so prideful as he was in Egypt this past week when the Muslims listened intently because never once did they hear the word "terrorist."  You can read the entire story and watch the video on Don White Portfolio.

Common Sense From Joan Allen

Gold to crash and other issues

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 10:57 PM

From:

"Joan A Allen"

View contact details

To:

jballen1@juno.com

Message contains attachments

Gold to crash2 2-09.doc (297KB), Cap and trade 3-09.doc (34KB), A Canadian Doctor Describes How Socialized Medicine Doesn.doc (38KB), Many say ACORN stole votes in 2008. now the census.doc (36KB), Predictable results of government ramming socialized medicine down our throats 5-09.doc (31KB), Judge Nepolitano-How To Curtail the Federal Beast.doc (56KB)

As many of you know, I have never felt comfortable about buying gold. The government has confiscated it in the past and I fear could do it again, especially since this administration can't get us to start consuming as Obama requests. I am definitely NOT recommending you sign up with this so called investor (his fees are exorbitant) but I do feel his take on this country's financial situation is pretty accurate. Numerous ads are telling us we are headed for inflation and we must buy gold as a hedge. Lately my gut has been saying we are in a deflation/depression. This report confirms my feelings.

Other reports I have read state the bailout money the banks received is being used to buy Treasuries to cover the banks derivative spending debts, mortgage bankruptcies etc. They are not lending to people who want to buy homes, partially because of all the layoffs coupled with not knowing if the prospective buyer will have a job in the near future. The banks see more trouble ahead and will not take chances.

Obama has been spending these last four months trying to make good on his campaign promises. His first priority is to pay back unions and others who contributed to his campaign. The unions made out big on this GM bankruptcy where the bond holders lost big time. Some of those bond holders were investment groups who are managing your and our retirement funds. (The government has stated it is considering confiscating 401Ks and other retirement savings and converting them to the defunct Social Security Fund.) These are some of the sacrifices he wants us to make.

Obama has told congress he wants Universal Health Care passed by August. There are no plans drawn up as to how this will be run. But he has stated that if the balance in congress should shift after the congressional elections next year, this may be a dead issue. Folks, this is rationed health care. The government is NOT interested in your receiving better health care, but having total control over you and me. This plan is great for children and young couples but as one starts to reach middle age, and certainly those who are retired, services are cut off. It is all about money and their budget. If the government can't keep the post office solvent how does one expect them to run health care??? Example: a surgeon is told he can perform 10 appendectomies this month. He has 5 children, 8 under 45, 5 between 45 and 65, 3 retirees around 65 and 4 around 80. The last 7 are no longer paying into the system so they definitely will be bumped. I'll let you figure out what the choice would be BASED ON ECONOMICS, NOT HEALTH. When we lived down state in the 80's, I attended the seniors community bridge game twice a month with my mother. During the winter months our numbers swelled due to the influx of Canadians and Brits who could not get health care in their countries and would spend the winters and their saving in the US to be treated. These countries are begging us to not go universal. They know what it is like. They will have no place to go.

Then there are those who might be planning to be doctors. Why would they? All that time, money etc only to be given a cookie cutter list of what to prescribe for each illness IF the patient is eligible. In countries that have socialized med, retirees are given a euthanasia pill to take if their pain becomes intolerable. It is more cost effective then spending large sums of money for the drugs or surgery that may help them. There will be NO doctors outside of the system. Their salaries will be capped, their initiative stymied. They would probably make more money as a plumber. (The gov't will tell them how much they can earn also. That is what they do in socialist countries, which we are fast becoming.) We have the best health care system in the world and the government wants to destroy it. Research will halt as there will be no money to fund it.

While I am on my soap box, let me bring up another point, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Obama wants a judge with empathy. The constitution bugs Obama and gets in his way. A judge who rules on empathy will bend the laws we have on the books. The cases she has ruled on have been appealed to the supreme court and overturned 60% of the time. A recent case she ruled on is expected to be overturned momentarily. It is the firefighters case. Firefighters took a standard test used by many states and if passed would make them eligible for promotion. There were 8 whites, 1 Latino and 2 blacks. One white suffered from dyslexia and hired a tutor to help him study for the test. The whites and Latino passed but the two blacks did not. Judge Sotomayor ruled the test invalid because of race. That meant none of those who passed were eligible for promotion. They have appealed to the supreme court which is expected to rule in their favor. REMEMBER, A SUPREME COURT JUDGE IS A LIFE LONG APPOINTMENT AND Judge Sotomayor IS YOUNG. ALSO, THE SUPREME COURT IS THE LAST STOP. THEIR RULING IS FINAL AND THERE IS NO APPEAL.

Then there is CAP AND TRADE. This is nothing more than a huge tax which will ultimately be born by everyone. Utilities have been predicted to go up at least by half. It is based on Al Gores skewed testing (equipment placed near paved parking lots etc) to try to prove the case for global warming. World wide award winning scientists met in NY in March and declared there is no evidence of global warming. In fact we are actually in a cooling trend. But Gore, GE and other industries plan to make tons of money from this scheme. When I wrote my senator to vote no, he replied he was going to support it because we needed to reduce our dependency on foreign oil through alternative methods. I wrote back that we are sitting on tons of our own oil and gas and to start drilling as well as doing research. Did you hear Obama saying it is OK for Iran to continue nuclear research as they needed it for energy. With all that oil they need nuclear energy??? Do they think we are stupid or what! And Obama does not want US to use nuclear.

Tonights news mentioned the vote for Card Check is still out there. Union bosses want to do away with secret ballots. Union members don't want to have to sign a petition with someone standing there intimidating and watching how they vote. But this seems to be the season to do whatever the union bosses want. Pay back time.

Obama says we all have to sacrifice. May I suggest we give up some of our TV and other pleasures to becoming more informed about this fast moving congress and writing to tell them firmly, but politely how we feel about these issues. If we take the attitude it is useless, we have in effect signed on to all of the above. Obama put short deadlines on when he wants these bills past to the point some of the legislators don't even read the bills. Enlighten them. Stay on top of the issues and write often.

Couple of tips. When you get on their contact site, you will need to write you name, address etc. Then you select the subject and then write your comments in the box provided. If you write your comments ahead of time on your word processor, save it to a folder (politics) then you can copy and paste it into the box. After you hit send, there will be a thank you notice so you know you have sent it. Use your back button, go to your politics folder and copy your next topic you want to address. Choose a new subject, delete the issue in the box and copy and paste this new issue there and send. Repeat the process with all of the issues you have previously typed and saved in your politics folder. This way you do not have to keep typing your name, address etc over and over again. Now go on to your second senator and do the same. You might have to change a word or two when you send to your representative. Instead of having to write your own comments, you might find an article on the subject you agree with. Copy and paste it into your word document and then alter it to fit your views. Then copy and paste it as above.

There are numerous sites on the internet, talk radio and Fox News to keep you informed. Even government sites to read the bills and to find how your legislators have voted. Invite your friends and neighbors over to discuss the topics and the many well documented books that have been written recently. I particularly like Mark Levin's 'Liberty and Tyranny'... a contrast between what we have and what those who want to control us are striving for. More Tea Parties coming up over July 4th where there will be plenty of info you can come away with. BECOME INFORMED AND WRITE YOUR LEGISLATORS! There will be an election next year and some are having second thoughts when enough of their constituents disagree with them. Harry Reid is nervous. Let's hope Nevada gets out there and defeats him!

The book 'The 5000 Year Leap' by W.Cleon Skousan was written about 25 years ago. It has sold more copies in the last four months than it did the last 25 years total. An in depth book on the struggles and deep responsibility the framers felt in drafting our constitution.

Stop Barak Hussein Obama's Insane Health Care Tax

America now has the best health care in the world. Yes, there are people in America who have no health care -- but there are agencies and medical services available even for these people to receive health care, even if they can't pay for it.

We have many different private plans we can subscribe to. We can choose the best one for us and our families. All are not the same. See, we don't have a single payer system in America. . . not yet, but Obama is herding us in that direction even if he says he isn't. So on all of my blogs I am spearheading a drive to get people to call their congressmen, send emails, letters, and complain about the new proposed VAT tax which is a silent, hidden tax on everything.

VAT means Value Added Tax, but let me assure you, there is no "value added" in any tax. It's just another way by Obama to make us look like Europe. Don't allow it. Get Washington off our backs. Obama also is suggesting a new sales tax on drinks of all kinds -- even sugar drinks. He knows this country is bankrupt but he wants to jab the knife into all of us one more time, and even twist it going in. Don't let all this to happen to you, and to your friends and family. Click here and read my blog on Angst Blogger and vote against more taxes.
Don White

Five Stories Too Good To Miss in Don White Portfolio

• There's a Time Bomb Ticking On America
• 100 Days To Destroy America
• Isn't It Time Barak Obama Steps Down?
• GM Gone: American Dream Tumbles To The Ground
• Bud Selig: Isn't It Time He Stepped Down?

Financial Crisis Getting Worse, Folks!

By Don White
If you think we have turned the corner on bailouts and financial crises, think again. We have just seen the tip of the iceberg, according to insiders. Just consider the latest eerie news on things that are happening or going to happen to your dollar, to your retirement, to your ability to survive in these troubling times:

• Being a former insurance executive I know we haven't even scratched the surface of the insurance imbroglio. Assets are being driven down while liabilities are going sky high. We will never have enough reserves to pay for everything insured. Insurance companies are about to suck this economy back into crisis. They're getting hammered from sinking assets, with almost no way to pay their guaranteed annuities to their customers. This could make AIG look like small potatoes... And we've just talked about life liabilities. What about accident and health? And what about the property and casualty side of things? Just wait. . .
  
  
• Commercial real estate is about to blow. It's financed by $3.1 trillion in debt - and the delinquency rate just doubled to $724 billion. And this is just the tip of the iceberg...
  
  
• Bernanke is handing out another $1.5 trillion to banks and other failing companies. Total bailout money now exceeds $13 trillion. Where's the money coming from? The Fed's printing presses. Inflation, baby, it's coming down hard.
  
  
• And get this... According to the Bank for International Settlements, the value of all derivatives (including toxic credit default swaps) now exceeds 683.7 trillion. If we were to spend 100% of the worlds annual GDP ($56 trillion) on the problem, it would still take 12.2 years to unwind everything. But forget that. We can't use up every other nation's GDP to cover President Obama's stupid decisions. Forget that. And he continues to take these expensive "dates" to see a Broadway show with wife Michelle at about $350,000 each when the rest of us must tighten our belts. A ruler like that is not a public servant, he either believes he king of America or that money falls from the sky. In reality, Barak is a raving lunitic with a mission to lower taxpers to the same paltry poverty level and lower America among nations to the poorest of the poor.
  

And if that weren't enough to raise the hairs on your back... Homes foreclosures are unending... Unemployment is still rising... Banks may need another $500 billion to stay solvent, according to the IMF... Corporate earnings are hitting all-time lows... And a loan of any kind is still harder to get than a Popsicle in the Sahara...

Government can't spend us out of this mess. Senator Judd Gregg of North Carolina said today on Fox TV that spending is the real culprit. The answer is not printing new dollars because that ignites hyper-inflation. The answer isn't borrowing more money. China refuses to lend us more money because our credit rating is about to drop from AAA to the high B's. To put this in perspective, we now are worse off than Britain, that socialistic country we all used to talk about. Based on fund borrowed compared to ability to pay it back the Brits are at 50 percent. America is worse off than that -- yes the greatest country on the face of the earth, or the one that used to be that -- is at 58 percent. Is it any wonder no one has any solid answers.

One wrong move and this bear market can slap down your gains in a single day - and leave you reeling for years to come. Or even worse... Fail to move and you could miss the biggest gains of your life.

One mistake in either direction could leave your retirement dead as a door nail.

How Can This Happen In America?

The Obama Government Is Stealing Assets of Honest Americans

This is the email I received today. It's a crying shame that because Chrysler and GM are in bankruptcy (forced there by the terrible economic situation we have which was partly fed by the stupid run-away spending for banks that Obama is responsible for. If you have an answer to this insanity, leave a comment and I'll make sure it gets back to the car dealer in Melborne, FL which is just 50 miles from us here in Orlando.

My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole own er of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.

We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed over 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood. We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability.

I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.

On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them. My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as “new,” nor will we be able to do any warranty service work. Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000.) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Ch rysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.

Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler’s insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.

HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?
THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY

This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.

This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster..

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?

I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.

Sincerely,

George C. Joseph
President & Owner
Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu
george@sunshinedodgeisuzu.com

Please forward to all US auto buying people you know!