Colin, Mary, Steve, Joe the Republicans Vote Obama

I’ve had conversations with some friends and family that uncharacteristically devolved into the nastiness of the McCain campaign. What was missing was an open mind. What was present was a belief, or support of an idealized image of the party or a candidate that was clamped onto with a vice grip hold.

I had hoped that the Colin Powell statement would shed some light on why I was voting Obama -he expressed my sentiments so well and with the creds of a brilliant military and public service career (no I did not like what he said and did in front of the UN–that’s another topic altogether).

 Colin Powell endorses Obama  I got quite the contrary reaction.

All I could do was stop talking to them–at least about politics. I was dismayed, stunned and shocked to find out that the people I thought or believed had open minds, in this case did not. Perhaps they were as shocked about my vote and support of Obama as Iwas of theirs for McCain.

Then I came across this article and had to share it.

This is what I longed for in my friends and family. Don’t get me wrong–I do believe people have the right to vote for whomever they want. I have been stunned recently by the closed mindedness and lack of real thought and consideration to their votes that I encountered in my ‘discussions’. [BTW - I'm a registered Republican. I never vote party - only the person and issues. Our state requires a party affiliation to vote in the primaries, so my husband and I split the partys.]

Here’s an alternative and welcome surprise found by an Obama voter…the essential ingredient that makes democracy work: an open mind. We don’t belong to our political parties. Our political parties belong to us.

From the Huffington Post – Eric Hirschberg Oct. 24, 2008

Republicans Voting for Obama: In Their Own Words

 Video

There are a number of people in my life — some family, some friends, some colleagues — with whom I have never agreed upon anything political. Ever. These are my political opposites. My bizarre-o twins. And they have been my adversaries in countless debates; the kind nobody ever wins, but nobody ever seems to tire of, either.

Sadly, politics have become sort of a new sports league in modern culture. We don’t really listen to each other’s points of view so much as we pick a side and root for it. And just as with our favorite sports teams, our faith in our parties can become blind. I have had about as much success convincing my Republican father-in-law of my liberal points of view as I have had convincing my father, an Ohio State alumnus, to root for Michigan.

But over the last few months, something unprecedented has happened. Almost all these folks have told me that, for the first time ever, they are voting for the same candidate I am: Barack Obama.

Now, these are not casual conservatives. These are people who, each in their own way, are deeply committed to their conservative beliefs. For most, this will be the first time they have voted for a Democrat in their entire lives. And when taken as a whole, they represent a fair cross section of the Republican Party. Some younger, some older. Some fiscally driven, some culturally driven. But almost all, up until now, have been intractable. Yet here we all are, staring down the barrel of a remarkably nasty presidential election, all in a rare moment of agreement. I figured this simply could not be an anomaly. Perhaps this was a groundswell.

I started asking around and found a number of my liberal friends were having a similar experience. So we asked these folks if they would appear on camera and share with the world why they changed. It seemed to me that the most convincing argument a conservative on the fence could hear might not come from a liberal, or even from Obama himself, but instead, from one of their own; a conservative who had crossed over. So we turned on the camera, and they did the rest.

I fully expected the results to be compelling and convincing. And they are. What I didn’t expect was the emotional wallop these unscripted interviews deliver. A combination of deep disillusionment with the last eight years, disappointment in John McCain’s candidacy, and an undeniable draw to Obama brought these people to a political decision that was deeply personal and courageous. It became clear to me that these were more than interviews. These were confessions.

This is what democracy is supposed to be. These people actually listened, considered and were open to the possibility of change. They didn’t support a candidate. They actually chose one. And while I’m happy this year they are voting for “my team,” they also inspired me to be more open in my own political life.

I thought we were making an ad campaign about Obama. But I think we ended up making an ad campaign about the essential ingredient that makes democracy work: an open mind. We don’t belong to our political parties. Our political parties belong to us.

Go to www.ConservativesForChange.com to see all of the videos.

It’s time….VOTE

My American Prayer

Pray and Move Your Feet…VOTE.

Vote early.

Make sure your friends and family vote.

Drive someone to the polls.

Help someone get an absentee ballot.

VOTE. Vote Early.

Be a pollwatcher.

Dangerous or Opportunity?

I have been quiet over the last couple of weeks. Frankly, the hate being spewed at the McCain-Palin rallies took me aback. Maybe it shouldn’t because it was there in the Bush rallies of 2000 and 2004, but this was different somehow. It was worse and to me unconscienable.

We are in the midst of ‘crisis after crisis’, people are afraid and what is getting stirred up by McCain campaign remarks like “palling around with terrorists” are “off with his head”, “kill him”, “he’s an Arab”. All dangerous and all disturbing – and based on lies. Palin and McCain have proven themselves unworthy of the highest offices in this land and as the most powerful (at least once) leaders in the world precisely because they have not provided leadership – quite the contrary.

As far as I know, it is against the law to incite people to violence against an American citizen – say nothing of the fact that he is a US Senator and a Presidential candidate.

Nothing is being said to calm people, propose solutions that actually help the middle class and those in trouble (not just the lenders) - 100% of McCain ads are negative character attacks.

How in the world do they expect Americans to come together with them or with Obama-Biden AFTER the election to deal with all these issues?!

And what about history? OUR history of lynchings (the last one was 1981 and 1964 is not that far off), OUR history of assasinations? Completely irresponsible by McCain.  Definitley NOT ‘Country First’ AND it is not even true which makes it all the worse. (do a factcheck.org or go here- there were 4 Republicans and an ex-US Ambassador appointed by Reagon on that same board).

Go back a few more years to Hitler’s rise to power – during dire economic times and inflamed rhetoric. Take a moment to study the depression, arising from unfettered and unregulated speculation  – fear ruled, suicides and riots prevailed.

Contrast the hate mongering extremism of the McCain camp with the calm leadership of Barack Obama who focuses on the issues, solutions and providing reassurance and steps to take – who refuses to sink to those lows. WHAT DOES YOUR INTUITION TELL YOU?  C’mon, cut out the party lines – in the quiet of your own home or office, you know what I am talking about…you do. THINK. LISTEN. Check in with your heart and ask “Which country do I want my kids to live in?”

Dangerous? YES! Oppotunity -YES, that too. As Americans and as human beings we have a profound opportunity right now to say NO to this hate, extremism and diviseness once and for all. THAT has become what your vote is about this election. (see Deepak Chopra articles in this blog).

You might think it is about abortion, or the economy, or Iraq – and certainly that is part of it. BUT the larger context, the biggest and most life changing issue is a choice between ‘the light’ and ‘the dark’  – choose.

Over 1 TRILLION Dollars!!

Yesterday, we all lost when the bailout was not passed. And the petty politics and show boating are not  worth commenting on other than to say ENOUGH already! If you disagree, go check your retirement accounts.

I doubt that anyone much likes that we are in this situation–I do not! Lots of blame to go around. But let’s deal with reality and practicality. We are in a mess much like a car wreck caused by a more than one drunk driver. We are injured, seriously. How long do you want to debate it and argue about it?

Right–It shouldn’t have happened! We shouldn’t be here! BUT it did and we are…now apply the immediate turnicate to live and then let’s go after the drunk drivers and the cause!

If you do not want to “bail out” Wall Street…just watch how quickly it “trickles down” to Main Street. The credit crisis does not take long to freeze spending, cause layoffs and missed paychecks. How long can you endure that? With over 600,000 jobs lost..how quickly can you get another one? How long would it take without a paycheck before you are part of the housing crisis? or you have to pull your kids out of college? or close your small business?

And imagine if Bush and McCain had gotten their way and your social security was in the markets? Bush deserves the ass kicking he’s getting right now–but we do not!

THINK people! Be a bit practical and then go after the bums and the changes that are needed.

We have a leadership vaccuum right now…go to your phones and emails and ignite it! Tell the idiots to stop the BS pettiness and get it done. Protect our investment and make sure there is something for homeowners in crisis. The housing crisis is driving this even if you are not behind in payments yet, you have lost!

• Oversight
• Accountability
• Return on investment for the taxpayer
• Changes in bankruptcy laws
• Staged investment
• Rebuild us and stop spending so much on Iraq–give Iraq a bill to pay for it all
• True Bi-Partisanship
• Work it out, stop pointing fingers and get it done this week
• Increase FDIC limits and empower the FDIC to do more workouts like they did with Wachovia and CitiGroup

And TG for the proposed stimulus package so we can stabilize and grow and not just rescue. We need jobs and we need liquidity.

We need inspired and inspiring leadership. Never underestimate the American People. We will come back strong and we will be world leaders again – IF we get smart and make the changes we need. Take action now. Vote for the necessary change in November.  Forget the party lines of the past – what does your intelligence tell you? what does your intuition tell you?

What happened?!

Did McCain help?…sure did!

To Debate or not to Debate?

How can NOT holding the debate be country first? It is CYA and campaign first…a President must be able to handle more than one thing at a time!

Video of Obama’s press conference in Clearwater, FL. Sept. 24, 2008 - comments about the debate and the economic bailout

 

Obama’s statement about the economic bailout

 

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From Credo Action:

Tell McCain and Obama: We need a real debate on the economy.

John McCain thinks we don’t need a presidential debate on Friday night. We disagree. We need a real debate on the economy, and we need it now. The presidential candidates should hold their debate Friday as scheduled, and address the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout.

We’ve been hearing a lot this week about how our economy is in a crisis – maybe the worst crisis since the Great Depression. Politicians on the left and the right have made all kinds of claims about exactly how much or little we should panic and what that means for the policies we should enact.

We reject the notion that canceling the debate is the best way to focus on the economy. We have a monumental decision to make this November, and we deserve a robust conversation on the defining issues of our time.

I just signed a petition calling on Senators McCain and Obama to debate economic issues this Friday — I hope you will too.

Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/economic_debate/?r_by=-1831327-VwLhrlx&rc=paste

“Pray and Move Your Feet”

Pray and Move Your Feet is a proverb I have heard my friend Bob Proctor say many times - not sure of it’s origin but it applies aptly today. I’ll leave the type of prayer to you depending on your beliefs and practices…but let’s talk about the “move your feet” part.

It basically is a CALL TO ACTION. (Thoughtful action; not a panicked, fear driven rush to action…pray/meditate first.) And there’s no time like the present. Seriously – please, STOP what you are doing and take action…do something. You will be feeling the effects whether you believe it or not and whether you act or not.

What am I referring to? The meetings on Capital Hill to decide what to do to rectify the mess WE created over the last 25+ years dating back to Reagan and even a bit further. Ultimately I am talking about this election, but right now is a time to put that in perspective and get on the phone and email. You choose what you want to say or do. Below are some links and info to help you do that.

The housing market has taken us to this precipice and is the key to recovery. But it is not all of it. The deregulation of the savings and loans (remember the Keating Five - McCain’s role) back during Reagan years, along with the deregulation of the banks and then the elimination of the uptick rule in the stock markets and the lack of regulation of the OTC markets and the same of the oil speculators have gotten us where we are now.

DEREGULATION did not help us–the type and extent have hurt us. Trickle down economics now has the pain ‘trickling’ down–it’s really a tsunami and not a trickle–and the rewards stayed at the top. If you want to play basketball, you need a playing court and rules. The rules of our financial markets have gone haywire or are nonexistent.

Regulations are needed that safeguard and still allow free markets. They HAVE to be reformed as part of any “bailout” or we are in the same mess as before, only worse.

The ‘true capitalists’ of the Republicans, including McCain over 26 years, wanted to deregulate everything and they did. It was continued through the Clinton years who added to the problem by demanding that mortgages be in the reach of everyone…which they became and many times fraudulently with lax or no regulations.

Why do YOU need to act? Well, the same administration who RUSHED to WAR based on lies and the Same Congress who said “OK, whatever you think we should do is what we will do” are deciding RIGHT NOW what to do with $700 billion of our dollars.

AND, if these 32 words don’t send shivvers up your spine, then I do not know what will…well, I might make a few suggestions but will leave that to another post.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Who is this “Secretary” they are referring to and who would have sole discretion as to what to do with our $700B?…the very same one who has been wrong on regulation, wrong on trade and wrong about the markets all along and who months ago told us that everything was ok…Secy Paulson…appointed by the President…the really smart guys who ignored all the warning signs and kept telling us that the “fundamentals of the economy are strong”. Oh I guess that includes our wise candidate too, the great dergulator chameleon McCain.

Who will the next President put in Paulson’s place? Good guess. Do you want to take that chance? BTW, it is suggested the Phil Gramm, the head of the Banking and Finance commitee that deregulated most of this mess and advises McCain will be it for McCain. or maybe one of the lobbyists who is on McCain’s campaign, probably Rick Davis who lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and was paid to do so for Freddie Mac up until last month.

What else–well how would you like it if the same CEOs who mismanaged their companies and now would like bailout money also received BIG salaries and bonuses for doing such a great job??!! You and I would be fired if we did what they did–and never would we get a bonus for leaving or screwing up on the job!

And if the housing market is driving this as Ben Bernacke says, then where is the plan for that–include it!

What about responsibility and accountability?! If we do in fact give the financial companies money, where’s the accountability and stake holding? And what about a consequential investigation into what or who were responsible…was there fraud?

And lastly, in the “keen sense of the obvious” category – why is Congress ONLY interviewing the two people who get the money, now say it is critical and imperative, but have not said a word prior to this? Does it not seem appropriate to talk to others–say economists, financial market specialists, mortgage and real estate investors and the like? Maybe someone with another solution rather than this RUSH to do what the administration says IS THE solution–since they’ve led us so well over the last 8 years!

LET’S WAKE UP! and look at the facts and reality. Make a call or send an email RIGHT NOW. Tell your congressinal folks what you think and what you expect of them. TELL them you expect them to have a spine and stand up for main street–US!

What else am I referring to?–VOTE based on reality and not a culture war that began during Reagan years and has been perfected by Rove during the Bush debacle. Vote in your (our-real Country First) best interests and not against it. STOP voting for “folksy” or a past ‘hero’ record (that has been called into question by vets)…and for all our sake’s stop believing lies…lies like, [my campaign manager] “has had nothing to do with it [Freddie Mac]since, and I’ll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it.” and the sleaze on the TV or out of touch statements like “the fundamentals of our economy are strong…oops, I mean the fundamentals are our workers”.

GET your friends and neighbors registered and make sure everyone votes…with a paper ballot either absentee, or early if your state requires those bloody machines.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Make a call. Here’s where to call for Florida residents:

Florida Senator Bill Nelson
 Phone:    202-224-5274

 Senator Mel Martinez
 Phone:    202-224-3041

Find your House, Senate and state reps here - http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

 PRAY AND MOVE YOUR FEET…NOW PLEASE

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President Bush actually wants Congress to give his Treasury Secretary (Henry Paulson, a former Wall Street executive) $700 billion with no congressional or court oversight. That amounts to $2,000 for every single American.² 

Would it help families struggling to keep their homes? NO. Do taxpayers get any share of the firms we’re bailing out, so we can benefit from any eventual profit? NO. Would the firms we’re bailing out be required to stop paying their executives multimillion-dollar salaries? NO.³ This is a pure giveaway of epic proportions.

Even some Republicans are admitting this is crazy. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) asked, “Just how long can the poor beleaguered taxpayer be expected to bear all the losses and bear all the risk?”⁴ Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) said, “I’m getting a lot of calls from my district, with people saying, why are you bailing out the big guys and not us?”⁵

Here are the principles Obama laid out over the weekend:

• No blank check. We must insist on independent accountability and oversight.
• Main Street, not just Wall Street. We need an emergency economic plan to help working families—a plan that would help folks cope with rising gas and food prices, create infrastructure jobs, etc.
• Help homeowners stay in their homes. We cannot have a plan for Wall Street banks that does not help homeowners stay in their homes and help distressed communities.
• Taxpayers should be protected. This should not be a handout to Wall Street.
• Rescue requires mutual responsibility. Institutions that benefit from taxpayer help must help protect American homeowners and the American economy. We cannot underwrite continued irresponsibility.
• Build a regulatory structure for the 21st Century. We should commit ourselves to new rules of the road for the 21st Century economy.
• A global response. The United States must lead, but we must also insist that other nations, who have a huge stake in the outcome, join us in helping to secure the financial markets.⁶

There are many in Congress who want to do the right thing, but they need to know the public has their back.

Sources:
1. “Administration Is Seeking $700 Billion for Wall Street,” New York Times, September 20, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21cong.html

2. “Administration Is Seeking $700 Billion for Wall Street,” New York Times, September 20, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21cong.html

3. “What Wall Street Should Be Required to Do, to Get A Blank Check From Taxpayers,” Blog post by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, September 21, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=30341&id=13968-4191096-Pvszlrx&t=5

4. “Lawmakers Left On the Sidelines As Fed, Treasury Take Swift Action,” Washington Post, September 18, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=30342&id=13968-4191096-Pvszlrx&t=6

5. “Democrats eye bailout—and more,” Politico, September 19, 2008
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13644.html

6. “Senator Obama’s Statement of Principles for the Treasury Proposal,” September 21, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=30343&id=13968-4191096-Pvszlrx&t=7

PRAY AND MOVE YOUR FEET…PLEASE 

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 From an email I received:

One reported quote from an anonymous congressional staffer about the effect of our e-mails, phone calls, faxes, etc. indicates that support for the bailout plan in its present form is rapidly declining due to citizen pressure. The Congressional newspaper Roll Call  reports:
“The Bush administration’s forceful lobbying effort failed Tuesday to win support from rank-and-file Republicans or Democrats for a $700 billion Wall Street bailout package, though GOP and Democratic leaders still planned to move a bipartisan bill by the end of the week. . . .
 
“The rank and file in both parties expressed deep concerns about anything resembling the $700 billion that the White House wants, and leaders struggled to keep their Members open-minded in the face of surging outside opposition from a diverse range of voices from former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and the Club for Growth on the right to liberal bloggers on the left. . .
 
“But both sides face heat internally, with liberals upset with what some see as a handout to Wall Street cronies and with conservatives who are appalled at the unprecedented intervention in the free market.”

It is important to get more people writing and calling their legislators (202-224-3121). Please forward this newsletter to everyone you know or send them to www.FreshAirCleanPolitics.net to take action. You can write/call  again and update your representatives on your views as this drama is unfolding.

And, people are starting to ask very sensible questions that should slow down the process. One writer on economics and taxes that I have a great deal of respect for, David Kay Johnson of the N.Y. Times, is making some important points in a memo to the media:
“In covering the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street don’t repeat the failed lapdog practices that so damaged our reputations in the rush to war in Iraq and the adoption of the Patriot Act. Don’t assume that Congress must act instantly, as so many news stories state as if it was an immutable fact. Don’t assume there is a case just because officials say there is.
 
“The coverage of the Paulson plan focuses on the edges, on the details. The focus should be on the premise. And be skeptical of what gullible Congressional leaders, most of them up before the voters in a few weeks, say after being given a closed-door meeting on supposed horrors. . . 
“Ask this question  — are the credit markets really about to seize up?
 
“If they are then lots of business owners should be eager to tell how their bank is calling their 90-day revolving loans, rejecting new loans and demanding more cash on deposit. I called businessmen I know yesterday and not one of them reported such problems. Indeed, Citibank offered yesterday to lend me tens of thousands of dollars on my signature at 2.99 percent, well below the nearly 5 percent inflation rate. That offer came after I said no last week to a 4.99 percent loan.
 
“If the problem is toxic mortgages then how come they are still being offered all over the Internet? On the main page AOL generates for me there is an ad for a 1.9% loan (which means you pay that interest rate and the rest of the interest is added to your balance due.) Why oh why or why would taxpayers be bailing out banks that are continuing to sell these toxic loans? . . .

“What steps are being taken to take back bonuses, fees and other compensation from the folks who got rich selling toxic mortgages and illiquid investments that Secretary Paulsen claims are threatening the whole system?
 
“How will adding $700 billion to the national debt ease strains on  the credit markets?
 
“As of now we are, as a group, behaving just as we did the last two times the administration sought to rush through a hastily thought out, ill-conceived plan. Why in the world are we being so gullible and naive? Whatever happened to the core value of journalism — check it out?

And, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, an economics professor at Columbia University, is describing the plan as a raw deal for taxpayers. What’s needed most, Stiglitz argues, is to assist struggling homeowners. “We should begin with the core of the problem, the fact that millions of Americans were made loans beyond their ability to pay. We need to help them stay in their homes, including by converting the home mortgage deduction into a cashable tax credit and creating a homeowners’ Chapter 11, an expedited way to restructure their liabilities.” If these mortgages are fixed so the debts are paid, will that not make the banks solvent?  It is time to build the economy from the base, rather than the top. Trickle down does not work – especially when it is debts that trickle down.

Please take action NOW.   Three steps below.  
Write Congress.     We have a model letter but you can modify it to make the points you think are important.  

Write the media.  Use the information in the newsletter above to send a letter to the editor and get the media to do their job – approach this massive, record setting bailout with skepticism. 
      
Forward this newsletter to everyone you know.  It is going to take IMMEDIATE, CONCERTED citizen action to prevent this rush to judgment. 

It’s the Stupid Economy…is my money safe?

I will be posting more re: the very real and urgent economic situation we are facing right now. BUT I wanted to get these links up ASAP - so here they are for your research and hopefully a little peace of mind so you can then proceed with a clear minded approach as to who is our best steward – Obama or McCain?

“In this 20th century, every great step forward has come during Democratic administrations.

Every movement backward has come under Republican auspices, and it is the people who have paid dearly. Too much is now at stake here and throughout the world to take the wrong path now.

There is one way to stop the forces of reaction. Get every vote out on election day, and make it count.

You can’t afford to waste your votes this year. I’m not asking you just to vote for me.

Vote for yourselves!

Vote for the standard of living that you have won under a Democratic administration!

Get out there on election day, and vote for your future!”

Harry Truman, 1948

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UPDATE: BANKS IN TROUBLE LIST GROWS FROM 90 TO 117, BUT THE FDIC STILL DOESN’T PUBLISH IT…

With the closing of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch getting bought out by Bank of America, everyone is searching for the “banks in trouble” list. Where can we find the FDIC list of 90 (now 117) banks in trouble? We can’t, the FDIC doesn’t publish it… but click the links below to find if your bank may be on the 117 banks in trouble list…(they don’t want to publish and panic).

• Get email notifications from the FDIC of bank failures
• Read the “banks in trouble list” according to Bank Implode (not according to the FDIC) — Bank Implode researches bank write-downs to come up with their own watch list
• FDIC list of already failed banks
• Find your bank’s strength rating at BankRate.com
• As a free public service, investment and banking experts Martin Weiss and Mike Larson have just video-taped a special program on a very urgent topic: The safety of your bank or broker, what happens to your money if they should fail, and what to do right now.
• wowOwow – women’s site with this link to their financial article Is My Money Safe?

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — By Gerri Willis, CNN

More banks are in trouble according to the FDIC. Is your bank next on the list? Here’s what to look for.

1. Get the numbers
The FDIC reported that the number of banks on the “problem bank” list grew to 117 during the second quarter. That’s the highest level since the middle of 2003.

There were 90 banks on the problem list in the first quarter of this year. The FDIC chairman also said that list is going to grow. In fact, analysts say that there could be up to 150 bank failures on the horizon.

But keep in mind that banks included on the problem list are considered the most likely institutions to fail, although few institutions actually reach that point – just 13% of banks on the FDIC’s problem list have failed on average.

And let’s put this in perspective – the FDIC insures more than 8,000 thrifts and banks. And this is nothing like what we saw during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when more than 1,000 financial institutions failed amid the savings-and-loan crisis.

2. Get the ranking
Generally small and mid-size banks are more at risk – that’s because they may not be able to raise enough money if they are in trouble. If you’re looking to park your money somewhere safe, go with larger, more familiar banks.

The FDIC doesn’t release the names of banks that are in trouble, but you can check the health of your own bank. Check out bankrate.com. This site will has a safe & sound rating system that can help you get a picture of your bank’s health.

If you want more detailed information about your bank’s financials, you can go to ambest.com.

3. Know the signs
Bottom line is that financial institutions are having a tough time. So, while it may just be the environment right now, you want to pay attention to massive job layoffs or cutback in services.

If your bank doesn’t accept new loan submissions that’s a red flag. And if you start to see generous CD yields advertised, that could be a sign that the bank is in trouble. That’s because banks are trying to entice people to keep their money at the bank.

As we’ve been reporting, if you are within the limits of FDIC-insurance coverage with an FDIC-insured bank, you shouldn’t panic. The worst move you could make is pulling your money out of a regulated institution and holding the cash yourself.

4. Don’t Panic
The FDIC is not required to reimburse you for anything above the covered amount. But there are some cases where you’ll be ok. For example, you may qualify for more than $100,000 if there are accounts in different “ownership categories.”

For example, your share of any joint account at a bank is insured up to $100,000 separately from accounts you hold in your name alone.

And the bank can also choose to pay for uninsured deposits if it raises enough money after selling off the banks assets. 

First Published: August 27, 2008: 11:47 AM EDT

Gerri’s Mailbox: Got questions about your money? Send e-mails to toptips@cnn.com

Patriotic women speak their minds and their hearts about this election.

I woke up this Sunday morning (Sept. 14, 2008) and finally had enough to take action! I’ve had enough over the past 8 years of the total erosion of our constitution, rights, privacy, freedom, civil liberties, economy, respect for each other & from other nations. I’ve had ENOUGH of the arrogance of this “decider” administration that has taken us into an unecessary war based on lies, caused untold damage nationally and internationally to all of US…and I’ve really had ENOUGH of the nonsense from the media and the sleazy, divisive Rovian tactics of the John McCain campaign. He was my guy in 2000. He is not that person now nor is he the honorable Naval officer who was a POW. Nothing about his campaign is consistent with the leadership, honor and integrity of a Naval military Officer…NOTHING!

Continued at… Read About This Blog

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Obama '08

Deepak Chopra -”a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia”

Found in the Huffington Post – worth the read no matter who you support

Obama and The Palin Effect
From: Deepak Chopra | Posted: September 4th, 2008

Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin’s pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper.

She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of “the other.” For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those feelings, but they don’t want to express them. He is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly clear, I am not making a verbal play out of the fact that Sen. Obama is black. The shadow is a metaphor widely in use before his arrival on the scene.)

I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful here to understand Palin’s message. In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher vision.

Look at what she stands for:

–Small town values — a denial of America’s global role, a return to petty, small-minded parochialism.

–Ignorance of world affairs — a repudiation of the need to repair America’s image abroad.

–Family values — a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don’t need to be heeded.

–Rigid stands on guns and abortion — a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree.

–Patriotism — the usual fallback in a failed war.

–”Reform” — an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn’t fit your ideology.

Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that minorities and immigrants, being different from “us” pure American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is a foreign threat. The radical right marches under the banners of “I’m all right, Jack,” and “Why change? Everything’s OK as it is.” The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to change, and narrow-mindedness.

Obama’s call for higher ideals in politics can’t be seen in a vacuum. The shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just conservatives possess a shadow — we all do. So what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia. Will the shadow win again, or has its furtive appeal become exha usted? No one can predict. The best thing about Gov. Palin is that she brought this conflict to light, which makes the upcoming debate honest. It would be a shame to elect another Reagan, whose smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the demoralized state we are in. We deserve to see what we are getting, without disguise.

“the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”

“I think still…the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”  John McCain, September 15, 2008, Jacksonville Florida

…and if you believe that, I have a bridge to nowhere to sell you

Sen. McCain apparently didn’t ride through any of the neighborhoods here in Florida, or maybe his windows were so tinted that he couldn’t see all the foreclosures. Or perhaps he was distracted by Phil Gramm, the great deregulator, who was reminding McCain that we are just a nation of whiners.

Or maybe this is why he said it…

Economists on Obama - who gets what

 

Obama’s Plan – in his words

_______________________________________________________

Obama Has a Plan To Manage Our Oil Reserve

By JOHN D. SHAGES
September 8, 2008; Page A17 Wall Street Journal

Energy is playing a pivotal role in this year’s presidential election. And a crucial aspect of America’s energy security not widely discussed is how to best use America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Sen. Barack Obama is proposing a simple maneuver — called an exchange, or swap — that will help lower the price of oil for consumers, increase the amount of oil in the SPR, increase energy security, and leave taxpayers better off by about $1 billion. His proposal deserves to be adopted.

In 1975, after the Arab oil embargo, the U.S. created the SPR to protect against oil supply disruptions. That reserve now consists of 706 million barrels of crude oil, the largest stockpile in the world.

As the steward of that stockpile, the Department of Energy plays an important role in oil markets. Merely announcing oil acquisitions or sales from the SPR moves oil prices. The SPR’s drawdown capability of 4.4 million barrels of oil per day surpasses the daily production capacity of Iran, Iraq or Venezuela.

The authority to sell oil from the SPR is contingent on a presidential finding of a “severe energy supply interruption.” In the past 33 years, there have only been two sales from the SPR: in 1991 to support Operation Desert Storm, criticized for being too late; and a widely applauded 2005 post-Katrina sale.

There is also another, little understood statutory authority that allows the Energy secretary to “exchange” oil from the SPR. This authority was created to allow the secretary to periodically change the SPR’s composition to ensure that it remains useful to refiners and consumers.

The Clinton administration used this authority in 2000, exchanging crude for heating oil. Later that year, facing a possible heating-oil shortage, the administration loaned 30 million barrels of oil to the market, which was repaid with interest in the form of additional oil at a later date.

This met two objectives. The swap added oil to the SPR at no cost to taxpayers and it put downward pressure on prices.

The Bush administration has used the exchange option extensively. As a matter of policy, however, it has used this option only for minor supply disruptions, and not to intervene in markets due to high prices.

Today, with historically high oil prices, it is time to debate using the SPR. Some argue that the reserve should only be used in emergencies. Others say that we should use all the tools at our disposal to help consumers.

Fortunately, we do not have to resolve these philosophical differences. Instead, we can improve the management of the SPR and maximize its value to the taxpayer. The oil in the reserve now is all light crude, which is easier and cheaper to refine into gasoline, a reflection of refining capability at the time the SPR was created. Over the past three decades, however, U.S. refining capacity has become increasingly sophisticated and complex, because the world’s oil is increasingly heavy and harder to refine. Today, about 40% of our refining capacity is configured to handle heavier crude oil.

We now confront a mismatch between U.S. refining capacity and the oil mix in the SPR. In a 2007 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that in an emergency this mismatch could reduce U.S. refinery capacity by 5% or over 735,000 barrels per day in total as some refineries scale back production to accommodate the SPR oil. The GAO recommended that the Energy Department change the reserve’s oil mix to at least 10% heavy oil, roughly 70 million barrels.

This could be accomplished through a swap. From a policy perspective, this would enhance the utility of the reserve, aligning its oil with U.S. refining capacity, while also putting short-term downward pressure on oil prices. From a business perspective, the DOE could craft an exchange to either increase the oil in the reserve, yield a cash bonus, or both. Light crude is more valuable than heavy crude (by about $12 to $18 a barrel), so swapping one for the other could bring in about $1 billion at today’s prices.

The House and Senate are considering legislation to mandate such a swap, and Mr. Obama has adopted the concept as part of his energy plan. The public benefits are compelling. Swaps that help energy security, refiners and consumers should be a routine part of managing the SPR.

Mr. Shages is a former deputy assistant secretary for petroleum reserves at the Department of Energy.

Are You Registered to Vote? America Needs US

Are you ready yet for the November 4th Elections? How about your friends, family, and neighbors?
More Americans are expected to vote this year than ever before in history, so don”t be left out!

Be sure to ask everyone you know the following questions:
� Are you registered to vote? If you moved recently, have you updated your voter registration?
� Did you apply for an Absentee Ballot? Do you know your state may not require any reason?
� Can you find your local Polling Place? Do you know it may have changed from last time?
The answers to these questions — and all your voting needs — can be found at www.StateDemocracy.org

Vote early everywhere you can, especially in Florida. Make sure that you have proof of your identity and address…there’s a possible move in FL to have newly registered voters vote with ‘provisional’ ballots.

VOTE – You Matter – VOTE

 

VOTE – It Matters -VOTE     

   

VOTE - We ALL Need You To Vote

 

VOTE YOUR HEART AND INTUITION VOTE

 

Countdown to the next President

http://www.intrade.com/

William Ayers, Barack Obama and John McCain–is there truth in here?

The William Ayers ‘terrorist’ tie as been completely debunked by factcheck.org and politifact…more out and out lies from the McCain campaign. The man has lost his soul and reputation…the past of war hero is obliterated.

Who else worked with William Ayers?

To bring in the other side, here are SOME of McCain’s associations that are factual -

These McCain connections are actually documented and MUCH more direct:
Jim Hensley, Convicted Felon;
G. Gordon Liddy, Convicted Felon;
Charles Keating, Convicted Felon;
Raffaello Follieri, Convicted Felon;
Rick Renzi, Under Indictment;
Rick Davis, Freddie Mac Lobbyist who was still on the payroll until a few weeks ago;
Charles Black, Lobbyist for Dictators;
Richard Quinn, White Supremist;
Pastor John Hagee, Bigot;
Pastor Rod Parsley, Bigot;
Todd Palin, Member of Secessionist Group – Alaska Independence Party;
Andrew McCain, Resigned Manager Failed Savings and Loan

And as of yesterday, Sarah Palin – investigation found that she abused her office and is guilty of an ethics violation. And what aobut her pastor who declares people witches and then runs them out of town? Serioulsy. There’s even more than this… McCain loses the guilt by association battle.

If we follow McCain’s ‘reasoning’ in the Ayers connection, we have this association of McCain consorting with communists.

What is this really all about? Country First? I think not-get elected at any cost. any cost - even his soul and reputation and the good of this country.

McCain aide helped Saddam.

Tell McCain to STOP the hate mongering and inciting violence.

Go to the rallys and report those calling out “kill him” and other violent threats.

Scrutiny and Debate—Where has accountability been all these years?

Where’s the media when you need them? and our elected officials?

Campbell Brown brings up a good point in this video…but where was she and all the news outlets 4, 6, 8 years ago? Well, at least we are hearing form them now. Will there be accountability required by the media in the rest of this political campaign? We shall see.

Ike is in and Reagan is out.