2008 Vote begins today in Ohio

This is the year 2008, when the USA has troops deployed, Climate Change is in full swing and there is inflation and unemployment.
Even Dan Quayle, the guy that couldn't spell potato, was more qualified than Palin.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says chance of Palin presidency scares her (click here)
by Mark Naymik
Madeleine Albright, who became the first female U.S. Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in government in 1997, is frightened by the possibility that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain's running mate, could assume the presidency.
Asked today in an interview with Plain Dealer editors and reporters if she is scared by the prospect of Palin being a heartbeat away, Albright, who has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama, responded without hesitating, "Yes. Yes."
"Having served two presidents, I think the job of the president is the most difficult job in the world," said Albright, who advised President Carter on national security and foreign policy and later President Clinton as secretary of state. "What you need in a vice president - and I've felt this for a long time because I've watched [vice president Walter] Mondale and [vice president] Al Gore - is that you need a partner. The job is huge and needs somebody not only for the heartbeat part but in the day-to-day governance.
"Gore went a step further of being almost like a prime minister ... taking away the underbrush of issues to do with how two countries relate to each other. So you need somebody that actually knows what they are doing. I see that with the Obama-Joe Biden relationship. I certainly don't see it in the McCain-Palin relationship."...
Tuesday September 30, 2008, 12:15 PM

THE LAST POLAR BEAR

Remember how important scientific investigation is when it comes to protecting species exposed to Climate Change that face extinction. Evidently when it comes to understanding SCIENCE, John McCain believes investigation into species 'specifics' leading to protection and preservation is hideous.

Journal of Wildlife Management
Article: pp. 1592–1600 Abstract PDF (672K)
CONSERVATION RISKS OF MALE-SELECTIVE HARVEST FOR MAMMALS WITH LOW REPRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL (click here)
PHILIP D. McLOUGHLINA, 1, MITCHELL K. TAYLORB, and FRANÇOIS MESSIERC
A. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada, B. Department of the Environment, Government of Nunavut, P.O. Box 209, Igloolik, NU X0A 0L0, Canada, C. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada
We used harvested, stochastic population models for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus) to illustrate the propensity for male-biased harvesting to reduce mean male age and numbers of sexually mature males for species with relatively low reproductive potential....



IN DEPTH
Climate Change
Wildlife photography
Will we see The Last Polar Bear in our lifetime? (click here)
...Essayist Charles Wohlworth describes in detail the drowned polar bears spotted by the U.S. Minerals Management service and the unfortunate walrus calves, far from ice or shore, swimming after the small boats launched from a U.S. National Science Foundation icebreaker....

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

Time of Day :: 10:37 AM AKDT

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Temperature :: 59 °F / 15 °C

Conditions :: Partly Cloudy

Humidity :: 88%

Dew Point :: 55 °F / 13 °C

Wind :: 4 mph / 6 km/h / 1.5 m/s from the East

Pressure :: 29.77 in / 1008 hPa (Falling)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV :: 2 out of 16

Lat/Lon :: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m

Waterspout Caught On Camera In Key West - Storms Hit Florida Keys Monday Afternoon

September 8, 2008
1730z
UNISYS Visual Image North and West Hemisphere (click here)

September 29, 2008

Key West, Florida

Photographer states :: This waterspout came right through the Key West harbor

Waterspout spotted over Lake Ontario (click here)
Last Update: 9/08 1:39 pm

Roger Toombs of Cape Vincent remarked to his wife that "the water's funny out there today," as he looked out on Lake Ontario Monday morning.
Moments later he saw a cloud nearly touching the water, and then a waterspout appeared.
It lasted several minutes as Mr. Toombs snapped a number of digital photos, which he passed along to NewsWatch50.
The waterspout was between the shoreline of Mud Bay and Fox Island. Toombs estimates it was a couple of miles out on the water.

Waterspout reported over Lake Buchanan
By Hudson Lockett Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 08:55 AM
The Llano County sheriff’s office and the LCRA reported a rare waterspout over Lake Buchanan on Tuesday night, said a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Essentially small-scale tornadoes that form over water, waterspouts are common along the southeast U.S. coast, according to the National Weather Service’s tornado FAQ.
“This type of phenomenon for Lake Buchanan, that’s a rare event,” said Robert Blaha, meteorologist and forecaster for the service. No damage had been reported, he said, and the waterspout, which was seen at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, had dissipated that evening.
The waterspout is unrelated to Hurricane Ike, which is still hundreds of miles away...

Twister provides a new sight beside the seaside (click here)

September 19, 2008

A waterspout was photographed off the South Devon coast as a storm swept inland at the same time, bringing high winds and a downpour.
Alison Heather, 21, a student, photographed the twister from her home in Livermead, Torquay. She said: “It was moving across the bay and you could actually see it was drawing the sea spray up a couple of hundred feet into the air.”
Dave Perry, from Torquay, who photographed the waterspout off Torre Abbey Sands, said: “First of all we thought it was a cloud but then we saw it was actually sucking up the water. I haven’t seen anything like it before in Torbay.” Pleasure-boat skippers reported seeing the waterspout two miles (3km) east of Berry Head, near Brixham. One said: “It was a long, thin formation coming out of the sky and when it was near the surface water was sucked up to meet it....

Goldman Sachs (GS) NewsBite - GS Falls on Bailout Disappointment

Above 5 years of stock prices. Note the price took off after Paulson took office as Treasury Secretary.
Below, yesterday. Paulson needs to resign !



Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) opened at $134.49. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $124.37 and a high of $134.62. GS is now trading at $128.39, down $9.60 (-6.96%). Over the last 52 weeks the stock has ranged from a low of $86.31 to a high of $250.70. Shares of GS are falling this morning as investors seem to be disappointed with the $700 billion financial bailout plan currently up for vote in Congress. Judging from this morning's action, it seems like investors are worried the bailout may not stabilize credit markets. Technical indicators for the stock are neutral and S&P gives GS a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking. If you are looking for a hedged play on GS the stock seems like it could be a candidate for an October out-of-the-money bear-call credit spread above the 150 range. [ABR-Seven Summits Strategic Investments NewsBite]

Over-exaggerated - Asian Markets down 0.16%, 2% and 4.12%. Not exactly a plummet. The Paulson Problem is an American 'thing.'

Buy Bonds !

Market Summary
At 3:07 AM ET: Treasuries in London are mixed across the curve today as the 2-year note is down 8/32 to 100 14/32, yielding 1.75%, up from 1.61% at the previous close. The benchmark 10-year bond is down 16/32 to 102 31/32, yielding 3.63%, up from 3.57% while the 3-month T-bill's current discount rate is little changed at 0.13%. The discount rate on the 6-month T-bill is up 0.24 percentage points to 1.44%.


3.63% - US Treasury Bonds. Gee. What a way to make money.


4.12%


0.16%



2%

We are going to round them all up.

Abramoff Sentenced To Four More Years (click here)
By John Bresnahan
Sep 4, 2008
...Justice Deptartment officials, pointing to Abramoff''s extensive cooperation with federal investigators, had urged U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle to sentence Abramoff to an additional 39 months behind bars stemming for his role in the Washington corruption case that rocked Congress and the Bush administration. Abramoff's attorneys were seeking even less timefor the one-time K Street star, but Huvelle rejected those requests....

Former Abramoff lobbyist, Hill aide indicted (click here)
By ERICA WERNER – Sep 8, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — A one-time congressional aide who went on to work with jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff was arrested Monday and accused of conspiring to corrupt government officials including his former boss, current Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif.
Kevin Ring, 37, pleaded not guilty to a 10-count federal indictment that accuses him of conspiring with Abramoff to win assistance from congressional and executive-branch officials by giving them things of value, and helping them skirt requirements to report those gifts.
He appeared in federal court unshaven, his hair rumpled, wearing shorts and a T-shirt and occasionally fighting back tears as he exchanged glances with his wife.
Ring's lawyer said that despite cooperating voluntarily for two years, Ring was not allowed to surrender himself....

...David Safavian, the Bush administration's former top procurement official, (click here) was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2006. Safavian, the only scandal defendant to take his case to court, was found guilty of covering up his dealings with Abramoff. In July, a federal appeals court overturned his conviction. The Justice Department plans to retry him....


Vice President Dick Cheney, shown at a White House dinner last week, was sued to ensure no presidential records are destroyed or handled in a way that would make them unavailable. (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES)
WASHINGTON - A federal judge yesterday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve a wide range of the records from his time as vice president.
The decision by US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under by the Presidential Records Act....




Anti-Palin rally calls for Colberg removal (click here)
TROOPERGATE: More than 1,000 protesters gather in downtown Anchorage park.
By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com
Published: September 28th, 2008 12:03 AMLast Modified: September 28th, 2008 02:46 AM
A protest slamming Gov. Sarah Palin's handling of the state's so-called Troopergate investigation -- and calling for the attorney general to lose his job -- drew more than 1,000 people to the Delaney Park Strip in Anchorage on Saturday....

Canada Increases Swap Agreement With Fed to $30 Bln

Canada has national health care. Just thought I'd remind everyone of that. They respect their citizens. As a rule they don't exploit them. Ah, yep. Ain't life amazin', huh? Who ever thought a bunch of southerners would be the heroes of the day. So, cool.



Federal surplus reaches almost $10B (click here)
Paul Vieira , Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, September 29, 2008
OTTAWA - The federal government posted a surplus for the last fiscal year of just less than $10 billion, the Department of Finance reported Monday, slightly below what had been anticipated.
According to the 2007-08 annual financial report, the Canadian government recorded a $9.6-billion surplus for the 12-month period ended March 31, just off the $10.2-billion target anticipated in the last budget.
Ottawa missed the forecast as revenue was $2.1 billion lower than forecast, whereas expenses were $1.7 billion less than anticipated. Also, public-debt charges were $200 million more than expected....

I take it Hank didn't get an 'Attaboy.' Go figure.

Above Gold. Below the Dow. All isn't lost.

Paulson missed the mark by miles. Time for a change in administration. Bring back O'Neill ! Come on now, the market is still at 10,000.



...No state in the country cast as many votes against the measure as Texas, President Bush’s home, where the measure was defeated 22-9. (Not a single vote was cast for the measure in Arizona and Alaska, the homes of John McCain and Sarah Palin. Illinois, Barack Obama’s home, tied 9-9 and the lone Republican congressman from Joe Biden’s home of Delaware voted for the plan.)...

Impeach. Bush. NOW ! There will be no scapegoating of Pelosi.

Everyone leave on recess for elections back home? Go with pride. This mess doesn't belong to the Democrats. Go campaign and bring home a majority !

NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Failure To Cooperate (click here)
Report: Top Bush aides ducked queries on prosecutor firings
By Michael Isikoff NEWSWEEK
Published Sep 29, 2008

Karl Rove was one of a number of former White House officials who declined to cooperate with the Justice Department inspector general's probe of the U.S. attorney firings.

...According to a blistering new report by the Justice Department inspector general released Monday, Rove was one of a number of former White House officials (including ex-White House counsel and Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers) who declined to cooperate with its investigation into the U.S. attorney firings-even though the current White House counsel's office encouraged them to do so....

Russia's Vnesheconombank lends $50 bln to struggling banks

Yury Makushin, Deputy Head of the Representative office of Vnesheconombank (click here) in the USA, addresses the Russian Conference

Will the fun ever stop? Somalia pirates free hijacked Egyptian ship.

The pirates are having a good ole time, Aye, me hearties ! (click here)
A Ukrainian ship seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia was carrying 33 tanks and other weapons, the Ukrainian defence minister has confirmed.

Pirates had previously seized a number of passenger and cargo ships, spurring armed intervention from the French and Security Council action authorizing Member States to aggressively combat piracy in Somalia's lawless waters. The involvement of heavy weaponry, though -- even if the pirates have no interest, or use, really, for the tanks -- have made this chapter in the saga a natural headline-grabber....

House vote is next big hurdle for bailout plan

Touching. That 'lack of awareness' demonstrated by McCain was the same as in that Baghdad neighborhood so peaceful you could hear a pin drop, so long as one wore a bullet proof vest.

VOTE NO !!

OTHERWISE, be prepared for a legal cadre of lawsuits to displace the legislated bailout as unconstitutional.

Once the Republicans 'got the swing' of sapping the USA Treasury for their failed policies, they simply didn't stop.

Paulson ends Treasury Secretary career in failure.

When Paul O'Neill resigned as US Treasury Secretary and followed that decision up with his book, "The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill" written by Ron Suskind which basically stated Bush's economic policies were irresponsible; no one paid attention. As a side note, Paul O'Neill met his wife and graduated from a high school in Alaska.

He was replaced by John Snow, who left under speculation of ethical impropriety regarding his brokers purchased $10 million of debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Then comes along Paulson and somehow he was supposed to be "God's Gift to the USA" in that the CEO of Goldman-Sachs would be atuned to issues of fiscal responsibility and make all legislative changes since the demise of Glass-Steagall work for America. In the course of his Cabinet presence he managed to manipulate the status of Goldman-Sachs, placing it as the world's advisor to attained wealth. He stated that the bailing out of AIG was due to the fact so many Americans would be disaffected by its failure. Oh.

Goldman Sachs had up to $20 bln AIG risk-NY Times (Paulson protected GS with $85 B taxpayer bailout)
Source: Reuters
NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) had as much as $20 billion at risk had the insurer American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) collapsed, the New York Times said on Sunday.
Goldman was AIG's largest trading partner, the newspaper said, citing six people close to the insurer. A collapse of AIG threatened to leave a hole of as much as $20 billion in Goldman, the newspaper said, citing several of the people.
The Wall Street bank told the newspaper that it was never imperiled by AIG's troubles. Spokesman Lucas van Praag also disputed the $20 billion figure, saying it did not account for collateral and hedges that Goldman employed to reduce risk.
The AIG bailout came after the New York-based insurer saw losses spiral on credit default swaps, which are insurance contracts whose value is tied to underlying securities such as mortgages and corporate debt.

I could go on and on about how Paulson abused his power to benefit Goldman-Sachs, but, that is a given.


What is more incredible is that Bush vetoed The 2008 Farm Bill which, of course, was overridden by the House and Senate.


Within the Farm Bill was a provision introduced by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) that was originally introduced as Senate Bill S.2058 by later attached to the Farm Bill of 2008. That provision was specifically designed to 'close the loophole' that allowed the exploitation by Enron. THAT exploitation was engineered by lobbiests working with McCain's current economic advisor Phil Gramm. The Democrats have been trying to 'head this mess' off for some time now, but, was continually obstructed from doing so by the Republican ideologists through the powers of the Executive Branch.


The point is that within 'the troubled waters' that now beset the USA is a core group of incompetents. Leading the list is Phil Gramm, the ideologist from Texas, that opposed the long lived Glass-Steagall Act replacing it with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 2000; a Republican dreamscape of deregulation that allowed the markets to "work as they should." The Glass-Steagall Act was a well established 'wall' that was passed during The Great Depression to separate investment risk from average Bank depositors.


While Wall Street types will debate that the demise of Glass-Steagall was not the reason for the fiscal collapse of the USA Economy, the fact that Gramm is at the center of all these measures and they all play an intricate part in the current economic departure from insuring National Security of the USA; is more than noteworthy.


John McCain stated, the director of the SEC should be fired, when the truth actually was that Phil Gramm should be exposed for his incompetency and willingness to 'play ball' with lobbiests interested in exploitation of this country while furthering 'a Republican ideology' that Bush characterized 'in its failure' as 'a Wall Street drunk.'


To risk more Republican influence within the fiscal well being of the USA, is to risk the security of the nation.


Cost of Iraq War and Nation Building (click here)


The Day when changing a consonant from 'm' to 'b' insued the defeat of National Security of the USA.


...Bush's request for $87 billion to underwrite the costs of his war on terror formally arrived on Capitol Hill yesterday (click here), but it has been a source of pain and embarrassment for the administration for nearly two weeks. Perhaps that's why officials at the White House and the Pentagon spent 12 months stonewalling and sidestepping questions about how much the war in Iraq will cost.
Ever since former White House budget chief Lawrence Lindsey slipped up a year ago and admitted that an invasion and occupation of Iraq could cost between $100 billion and $200 billion, the administration has been playing hide-and-seek with the numbers. Budget figures have trickled out from various administration offices, but most have been heavily qualified, broad, or contradictory. And, until this month, they never came from the president himself....

Top Republican on 'Paulson plan'

California Budget Must Prioritize Fire Safety - July 12, 2008

Signing the budget ended bitter partisan deadlock on how to close the $15.2 billion deficit (click here)
By Justin Ewers
Posted September 24, 2008
...Neither Democrats nor Republicans seemed pleased with the final product, especially after Schwarzenegger's last-minute, line-item veto of $510 million in funds for HIV/AIDS education and a tax rebate program for low-income elderly renters, among other programs. "I would like to say it's finally over with, but really the state is no better off than it was before," said Senate Majority Leader Don Perata. "We have simply rolled the problem into next year... There isn't much to be proud of."...




...For the new budget year, in addition to increasing the firefighting budget, legislative Democrats have proposed doubling the amount of money available from the new property insurance fee the governor is promoting as he travels the state....



Posted by: thepinetree on 09/26/2008 05:12 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 09/26/2008 06:43 PM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
Fire Danger Remains High Despite Cooler Weather....Residents urged not to become complacent (click here)
San Andreas, CA....As fall begins and students have returned to school, many people believe that fire season also ends at the same time. CAL FIRE is reminding all Californians that fire danger remains high across the state and even though the threat has decreased in some areas, the chance of large and damaging fires still exists.....

Give the money to the States !! Let them administer their own fiscal recovery.

Another tropical disturbance off the Yucatan Peninsula. There is flooding in the Midwest along with tornadoes.

The USA will never recuperate the $700 billion. Some of these homes are not salvagable and were not insured for the damages they sustained after tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. This 'bail-out' is simply a matter of 'dumping' a negligence of a Climate Policy on the people of this country.

The recuperation the USA will ever see out of this bailout is an increase in the labor market when it comes to operating bulldozers.

Let it go !!!



Flood aftermath driving U City family from long-time home (click here)
By Margaret Gillerman
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/28/2008
University City — Leniel Fields sleeps in what's left of his blue-and-white 1994 Thunderbird — with a pillow, a Red Cross blanket and a Bible.
Fields, 41, a forklift operator, was chased from his home two weeks ago by River Des Peres floodwater, which ruined his car and ravaged the modest brick bungalow his mother owns and that he has called home on and off for 33 years.
After the Sept. 14 flood, University City condemned the house and told Fields, his mother and younger brother it was not safe to sleep there.
Electrical repairs alone would cost $4,050, according to one estimate. The family needs a furnace, water heater, washer, dryer and at least one car — plus replacements for Fields' younger brother's furniture, computer, clothing and most of his school books....


There is flooding and damage to people's homes and lives, but, nothing is more important to the media of the USA than the credit crunch of the Republican Infrastructure. Amazing. What good does it do to salvage a mortgage on homes that aren't habitable?


September 27, 2008
1143 AM EST

Station ID: 07194500
Name: Arkansas River near Muskogee, OK
Flow Rate: 57600.00 cfs
Percentile: 92%
Temperature: 86.90 F
Stage: 21.86 ft
Flood Stage: 28 ft


Tornado Storm Report:
2008-09-26 10:53:00 EDT
Lat/Lon: 36.23,-77.11
Location: Bertie
Tornado reported by multiple sources near Aulander and moving north. (Akq)

Tornado Storm Report:
2008-09-13 21:18:00 EDT
Lat/Lon: 42.38,-83.45
Location: Wayne
Law enforcement and media reported a tornado touchdown near Wilcox Rd and Schoolcraft Rd. A roof was reportedly ripped off an apartment building. (Dtx)

Give $700 billion to the States based on need. Extend credit through the States. Extend Unemployment. Facilitate Infrastructure Rebuilding.

Like I said, McCain's visit to DC was simply Grandstanding. It achieved nothing, but, insisted on promoting his crony agenda while it gave him an excuse for a poor performance in the debate, "After all, as his campaign cited, he suspended his campaign." That was his choice and it he choses liability over resolution, what does that tell anyone about what a McCain White House would be like? Chronic infighting and never getting anything done. JUST LIKE BUSH !

I have not been to Baghdad. I have not been to Afghanistan. I have not been Waziristan. I have not been to Russia.

“That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land — boundary that we have with — Canada.”

Tell me Alaskans aren't this paranoid.

They don't believe in the work the USA State Department does?

If not, then it tells plenty about the need for a change in administration in DC !

"I visited Afghanistan and I traveled to Waziristan and I traveled to these places and I know what our security requirements are." McCain stated.

And he still makes bad decisions.

...At a news conference shortly after their outing, Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, and his three Congressional colleagues described Shorja as a safe, bustling place full of hopeful and warmly welcoming Iraqis — “like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime,” offered Representative Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican who was a member of the delegation....

...“What are they talking about?” Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. “The security procedures were abnormal!”
The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees — the equivalent of an entire company — and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.
“They paralyzed the market when they came,” Mr. Faiyad said during an interview in his shop on Monday. “This was only for the media.”...