Whose Sky is Falling In?

OR, Should the Panic of Henry Paulson be the Panic of the Nation?

Something strange is going on when, a few short days after nationalizing Fannie and Freddie, and bailing out AIG, Henry Paulson found it necessary to tell the nations' political leaders that our entire financial and economic system is about to collapse.

But a quick look at what happened that very day to Goldman Sacks stock prices clears up the mystery. As hedge funds discovered that the much vaunted Goldman was also hiding nearly worthless derivatives and packaged mortgages, they drove the price of GS down from 145 to 103. The same day the administration banned selling short financial shares like GS, and Henry took his case to the assembled US leaders that the sky is falling in, and only giving him a trillion dollars to save his old firm and others like it can prevent a national collapse.

At least one Wall Street Journal writer has pointed out that this is a huge SCAM. Henry Paulson was running Goldman when they dug themselves in the same hole as Lehman Brothers. The near or actual collapse of Goldman would be a catastrophic embarrassment to Paulson and the President, and a colossal erosion of confidence in the ability of this administration to deal effectively with our real economic challenges. It is not a huge threat to this nation's economy.

The crisis is really one for Paulson, GS and the other reckless investment banks. There is no dire crisis in our other markets or the economy, other than for mortgage holders who can't meet their payments (and for whom no help whatsoever is being offered by Paulson). Walmart, Home Depot and my supermarket are crowded; our 6.1% unemployment rate is hardly catastrophic; and the stock market fell more in all three crises since 1930, than it has this year.

Folks, we are being asked to pony up a trillion dollars in more national debt, for Paulson to bail his own firm and those of his cronies. Not to save the nation, but to save them from further harm and ridicule. If we do this, Goldman's young employees will still get their $500,000 to $2,000,000 bonuses this Christmas; but GM and Ford will never be given a nickel to save an auto workers job that is threatened right now.

And we, the taxpayers, will be saddling ourselves and our grandchildren with a national debt that will reduce this country to a second rate power and lead to a fiscal disaster in record time. If we are so reckless with our nation's money and credit, why would the nations of the world even continue to use the dollar for most international transactions?

Fortunately, many leading Republicans and financial analysts see the "Paulson Gambit" for what it is. One only hopes that a spineless Democratic leadership will not be stampeded into agreement by Paulson's rant. If he is so brilliant as to predict a looming disaster, where has he been all year through this growing crisis?

Please correct me if I am missing something here; or use this to help others consider what is really going on in America this week.

Our Responsibilities in This Presidential Election

Isn't it time we swallow our narrow political ideologies and recognize the commitment, the idealism and the will to make the USA a better country that drives every one of these presidential candidates? Think of the time, the energy, the crap they have to put up with to be in this race. And for the one who wins, try to imagine the colossal task of trying to manage the affairs of the world's greatest superpower at this moment in time.

Yet we join a spiteful, divisive media, and hacks on the right and left like Hannerty, Chris Matthews, Tucker and many others, in seizing on every word of our least favored candidate that can be misconstrued, and pouncing gleefully on every gaffe, mistake or change of mind.

We talk about uniting the country; than we join every day the crowd of media miscreants who feed on sharpening divisions and aggravating the natural tensions among competing parties and candidates. Shouldn't we at least set a new standard for ourselves, who should represent at our age some wisdom and maturity. Shouldn't we start to focus on the issues rather than the personalities, foibles or human mistakes which makes every active person vulnerable.

If we could stand in their shoes for even one day, we might appreciate the overwhelming burden these candidates have assumed in trying to represent and lead our country.

Trends in the American Elections of 2008

A surprising shift ocurred over the last few months in the issues that Americans believe are most important in this election. Despite the opinion of 2/3 of all Americans that the war in Iraq is a mistake and should be ended, this is no longer the dominant concern of US voters. Illegal immigration and creating a safe border with Mexico has now emerged as the primary focus of voter concern.

Thanks to the dogged criticism and revelations of Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck on CNN, a majority of Americans of all political stripes are now convinced that the US must finally close and secure the border with Mexico and prevent the movement of drugs, people and perhaps terrorists over what has been a wide open frontier. In fact, they were so incensed by the recent attempt of President Bush, Teddy Kennedy and John McCain to pass what came to be called "Amnesty" legislation for illegals already in the country, that public opinion forced an early and decisive defeat of the bill.

It has seemed clear to me for some time that the winner of this presidential election will have to take a very strong stand on securing the border with Mexico and preventing the drug traffic and the wholesale violence it breeds. Border towns on both sides are awash in drug-related violence, and the Laredo area has witnessed over 70 kidnappings of American citizens over the past 2 years, none of them solved or found. (See the film "No Country for Old Men," a great movie touching this issue)

The issue is more problematic for Democrats than for Republicans, in spite of the President's toleration of the status quo. Both Obamba and Hillary stumbled badly in November in supporting the NY State governor's proposal to grant drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. Attacked by his own Democratic party members, the governor withdrew the legislation. Many democrats, independents and republicans are incensed over the costs taxpayers bear for the education, medical care, tax-free incomes and other financial benefits many states afford illegals. The high crime rate among this group, and the fact that in California alone over 50% of the prison population are illegal immigrants compounds the anger.

Among the leading candidates, Mitt Romney has taken the strongest stand on stopping illegal immigration and securing the border. Once the primaries are over, you will see this issue mushroom into one of the defining issues of the 2008 elections. And if the recession that looks increasingly likely comes into play, the war in Iraq may slip further down the list of issues that will dominate this election.