Misery Index

The House Democrats are discussing taking 401(k)s back to the value they were in August, 2008 before the stock market declined and restoring the 401(k) back to its full value.  Then they are discussing seizing those funds and putting it into a Social Security fund that will grow by 3% each year with government bonds, which will be adjusted for inflation.  The most one would be able to contribute to it each year would be 5%.  A company match will no longer happen.

A plan by a professor of economic-policy, Teresa Ghilarducci, states that, all workers would receive a $600 annual inflation-adjusted subsidy from the U.S. government but would be required to invest 5 percent of their pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Administration.  The money in turn would be invested in special government bonds that would pay 3% a year, adjusted for inflation. [Ghilarducci's Testamony to the House [PDF] on October 07, 2008]

"I want to stop the federal subsidy of 401(k)s," Ghilarducci said in an interview.  "401(k)s can continue to exist, but they won't have the benefit of the subsidy of the tax break."  "I want to spend our nation's dollar for retirement security better.  Everybody would now be covered" if the plan were adopted.

John Belluardo, president of Stewardship Financial Services Inc. in Tarrytown, NY has said, "From where I sit that's just crazy."  "A lot of people contribute to their 401(k)s because of the match of the employer," he said.  "If the tax deferral goes away, the employers have no reason to do the matches, which primarily help people in the lower income brackets," said Belluardo.

Ed Ferrigno, vice president of the Washington office of The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America has said, "Some of the tenor [of the hearings last week] that the entire system should be based on the activities of the markets in the last 90 days is not the way to judge the system."

James Pethokoukis writing for the US News described the plan:

In place of 401(k) plans, she [Ghilarducci] would have workers transfer their dough into the government-created "guaranteed retirement accounts" for every worker.  The government would deposit $600 (inflation indexed) every year into the GRAs.  Each worker would also have to save 5% of pay into the accounts, to which the government would pay a measly 3% return.  Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, said that since "the savings rate isn't going up for the investment of $80 billion [in 401(k) tax breaks], we have to start to think about whether or not we want to continue to invest that $80 billion for a policy that's not generating what we now say it should."

The Carolina Journal and LGF reported:

Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts - including 401(k)s and IRAs - and convert them to accounts manged by the Social Security Administration.

Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401)k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly.

The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School of Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism.  Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers' retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

This type of plan didn't work so well in Argentina.  In Argentina, private pensions are somewhat like 401(k) accounts in the United States.  Argentine lawmakers are considering a plan to nationalize about $26 billion in private pension funds.

Argentina announced last month on October 21, in what has been called a "surprise bill",  that it was taking over the pension system to protect workers from losses, thus nationalizing the pension system in a way to raise funds to avoid its second default in a decade.  Currently Argentina has about $150 billion in debt.

After the release of this announcement, the Merval index (the Argentina version of the NYSE) fell more than 10% the same day and the next day, and by Friday had dropped 28%.  The damage was worse in the local debt markets, where trading volume for a a key local bond market was practically zero the next day, Wednesday, compared to a normal day's turnover of about $1 billion.

A few days later, a U.S. judge ordered the freezing of more than $553 million in U.S. investments held by the Argentine pension funds that the government intends to nationalize.  The judge ordered the blocking of property in the US "including but not limited to cash, deposits, real property, instruments, securities, security entitlements, security accounts, equity interests, claims, and contractual rights and interest" maintained in the name of the Argentine pension funds. 

However, another judge has blocked Argentina from transferring any of the pension fund investment out of the US until he hears the complaints of bondholders.  Argentine officials saw this as "an attempt by vulture funds to take possession of these assets without considering whether it belongs to them."

It was announced just today, that the pension nationalization bill has passed in the Argentinian Lower House.  The Senate will vote on the bill later this month.

RANT ON

So lets talk about me/us for a minute.  We, meaning us.. you know what I mean, place 4% of our income into a 401(k) account which is matched by the company my other half works for.  (Yes I have my own, however its rather small, and basically is the same program that my other half has.)  This was placed into a 4.8% fixed interest account back in September before all this hoopla.  Before that, there was a hit of about 9% since the beginning of the year, which is acceptable considering many lost 40% or more.  That is the chance one takes when they invest and unfortunately, this can not be taken as a loss.  But moving forward, any money that is placed into this account is not taxed. 

In comparison to the Dem's idea, an additional 1% would be taken out of income, and additionally the entire 5% would be taxed and placed into a 3% fixed interest account, giving $600 bucks a year in addition.  Also by doing this, this means that if a loan is needed, it can not be done as the government has the money, and can use it as it sees fit via the Social Security Surplus Bill.

So lets look at the first year numbers under this new plan, with an income of say $50K, shall we?

So using the above example, who makes more money off of this?  Is all this worth a 1% return on your retirement?  The government does make more money off YOUR investment, a LOT more money, than you would under it being privatized, and you get a measly 1% return.....  how generous of them.  Or is this an example of "sharing the wealth?"

This also means that all the money that is in the stock market would disappear.  What does one think happens when there is a mass sale of stock?  First the market drops like a bomb, and then secondly, what bank or investment company has the funds to cash up for those sales.  Oh yea, the $700 billion, or rather $1.7 trillion, or rather, whatever number it has grown to today.

Additionally, what would happen if everyone decided to cash out their 401(k)s at one time, thus a "run on 401(k)s"?  First one would have to pay a 10% penalty tax for early withdrawal if one is not 59 1/2 years old, thus the government makes money.  Secondly, you are taxed just like your income tax as pulling out a 401(k) is seen as income.  So thus, the government takes part of your money.  Basically it comes out to right around a 25% loss for early withdrawal on the average overall.  Then of course, is the scenario above where everyone is selling on the market, companies don't have the funds to back up their stock, and around and around we go on the merry-go-round again.  That is, if the Democrats who want your money, don't immediately put restrictions on early withdraws on 401(k)s before this bill ever makes it to the floor.  So if you think companies falling, banks falling and unemployment is bad now.... what do you think will happen if the Democrats seize your 401(k)s?

Also in the discussions, there is the elimination of the 401(k) tax break which has been stated to be around $80 billion.  This means that any money you place into a retirement account is taxable, where as it is now not taxable.  This increases your tax liability and thus your income tax raises.  Additionally, this increases the government's income.

And meanwhile, the government can use your money via the Social Security surplus bill for their own purpose via the Social Security Surplus Bill.

If you ever wondered how the government was going to pay for the bank bailouts, well now you don't have to wonder.

SOURCES:

• Marketplace
• Breitbart
• Financial Times
• Bloomberg

THE PAST

Rahm's father is an Israeli-born doctor who was once a member of the Irgun, a group which fought for Israeli independence until 1948 and was branded as a terrorist organization by the British colonial authorities.  His mother meanwhile, worked as an X-ray technician and was the daughter of a local Chicago union organizer.  She was a civil rights activist but is now a psychiatric social worker.  The two met in Chicago in the 1950s.

Rahm was born in 1959 and attended Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, a Jewish day school.  After his family moved to Wilmette, he attended public school.  He and his brothers attended summer cap in Israel. 

He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981, and went on to receive a master's degree in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985.

In 1991, Rahm volunteered to serve in Israel's army during the first Gulf War of 1991 - rust-proofing brakes in northern military bases, Israeli media reports (via the BBC, Ynetnews).

Back in the US, Rahm became the director of finance for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 continuing on as a senior advisor to President Clinton from 1993 to 1998.  He has stated that one of his proudest moments during the Clinton administration "was an event that touched his political sensibilities and his personal ties to Israel:  the 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony after the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).  Emanuel directed the details of the ceremony, down to the choreography of the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzahk Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat."

Emanuel has also said to have "mailed a two-and-a-half foot rotting fish to a former coworker (pollster) after the two parted ways."  On the night of the 1996 election, "Emanuel was so angry at the president's enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting 'Nat Landow!  Dead! Cliff Jackson!  Dead!  Bill Schaefer!  Dead!' and plunging the knife into the table after every name." (Additional source:  NYT)  BTW, this is the same man who stated that "the bottom line is Clinton did not have sex with Lewinsky and did not ask her to lie."

After Clinton's Presidency was over, Rahm joined Wasserstein Perella & Co as a partner in the firm's Chicago office, focusing on merchant banking, strategic advisory, and mergers & acquisitions.  During his time working for Wasserstein, he reportedly earned $18 million from 1999 to 2002.

Emanuel was also on the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation aka "Freddie Mac" in 2000, which puts him right in the middle of the Freddie Mac scandal when Freddie Mac misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between the years of 2000 and 2002.  Emanuel was not named in the SEC complaint however, the entire board was later accused [PDF] by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention."  During this time, Rahm was paid $231,655 in directors fees in 2001 and $31,060 in 2000.

He resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for congress.  He has been a member of the House of Reps since 2003. 

Since 2002, Rahm has  reportedly been the beneficiary of campaign cash from Freddie Mac and its sister organization Fannie Mae - $51,750 according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site, OpenSecrets.org.

In 2008 Contributions, Emanuel "was the top House recipient in the 2008 election cycle of contributions from hedge funds, private equity firms and the larger securities/investment industry."  Since Emanuel's election to Congress in 2002, Emanuel has received more money from individuals and PAC's in the securities and investment business than any other industry.

In a November 6, 2008 article, it was stated that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has an active FBI counter-intelligence file maintained on him, and it may pose a significant security problem for Obama if the FBI insists on conducting the full background security investigation normally required for senior White House officials.  Questions about Emanuel's links to the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad [Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, the national intelligence agency of Israel], were allegedly so great that President Bill Clinton was forced to dismiss Emanuel from the White House staff in 1998.

AMERICA SERVES, RHAM'S 2006 VIEW

Rahm supports a plan to send 18-25 years olds into compulsory service which goes along with Obamas "Change.Gov" website plans for "America Serves".   This is an excerpt from Bruce Reed and Rahm Emanuel's 2006 book, The Plan:  Big Ideas for America.  You can read some of this yourself via Google's Book Search. 

In the introduction to the book it is stated:

"This book is a first draft of the new conditions, new requirements, and new terms that our new era will demand."

Chapter 4:  What's The Plan?, pg. 54

"THE PLAN

A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT, OR WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY AND WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU

The economy of the twenty-first century demands new skills and will require all of us to live up to new responsibilities.  We believe that four mutual obligations that follow should represent the first terms of a new contract between the people and their country.

Universal Citizen Service

If you forget everything else you read in these pages, please remember this:  The Plan starts with you.  If your leaders aren't challenging you to do your part, they aren't doing theirs.  We need a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us by establishing, for the first time, an ethic of universal citizen service.  All Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five should be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic civil defense training and community service.  This is not a draft - nor is it military.  Young people will be trained not as soldiers, but simply as citizens who understand their responsibilities...."

From Chapter 5, "ASKED NOT:  Universal Citizen Service" , pg. 60

"THE CASE FOR UNIVERSAL CITIZEN SERVICE

Every citizen needs to understand and accept the essence of the American bargain:  Each of us has to do his or her part.  While the rights of citizenship are explicit in our Constitution, the implicit responsibilities are every bit as crucial.

From our radical experiement in freedom to work, we must prize responsibilities as well as rights, and never presume to do for people what they can do for themselves.

After 9/11, both parties in Washington spent countless hours debating a law called the Patriot Act, which gave federal authorities new powers to police terrorism.  We're all for giving law enforcement the tools to do its job; the two of us helped write legislation to do just that (which the Republican Congress largely rejected) after domestic terrorists blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.  We have no problem spying on terrorists, here or elsewhere.  Indeed, as we'll explain later, we believe the U.S. should strengthen its domestic counterterrorism capacity in a way that also safeguards our freedoms.

Our problem with the Patriot Act is simpler:  It doesn't have much to do wtih patriotism.  We want the government to be aggressive in protecting us from terrorists.  But we want a government that's just as serious about challenging us as citizens.  Americans' role in the war on terror is not simply to be waving flags on the sidelines.

It's time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us.  We propose universal civilian service for every young American.  Under this plan, all Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation, and community service. 

This is not a draft.  We repeat:  This is not a draft.  It's not military either.  We're not asking young people to be soldiers, but to be citizens - ready to respond to the nation's needs here at home.

The idea of universal civilian service may not be popular everywhere in our party.  Some Republicans will squeal about individual freedom, forgetting their own rhetoric that freedom isn't being free.  But universal service is the right thing to do, and our country will be stronger for it.

Here's how it would work.  Young people will know that between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian training in their state or community, where they will learn what to do in the event of biochemical, nuclear, or conventional attack; how to assist others in an evacuation; how to respond when a levee breaks or we're hit by a natural disaster.  These young people will be available to address their communities' most pressing needs.

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton and the late Eli Segal launched AmeriCorps, which has given more than 400,000 young people the chance to serve their community. ...

By asking every young American to serve, universal civilian service will strengthen America in three vital ways.

First, it will provide real, lasting security benefits. ...

Second, universal civilian service may be just what we need to save the volunteer army and avoid a draft. ...

Third, and most important, universal service will give young people a chance early in their lives to look past differences of race, class, creed, and region, and to see themselves and one another first and foremost as Americans.

Other Rham Articles:

Emanuel Attended A Meeting With Clinton Campaign Advisers Following The 1992 Campaign To Discuss Which Politicians And Members Of The Press They Would Seek Revenge Upon:

“It was there that Emanuel, then Clinton’s chief fund-raiser, repaired with George Stephanopoulos, Mandy Grunwald and other aides to Doe’s, the campaign hangout. Revenge was heavy in the air as the group discussed the enemies — Democrats, Republicans, members of the press — who wronged them during the 1992 campaign. Clifford Jackson, the ex-friend of the President and peddler of the Clinton draft-dodging stories, was high on the list. So was William Donald Schaefer, then the Governor of Maryland and a Democrat who endorsed George Bush. Nathan Landow, the fund-raiser who backed the candidacy of Paul Tsongas, made it, too.” (Elisabeth Bumiller, “The Brothers Emanuel,” The New York Times, 6/15/97)

Emanuel Told His Staff That Republicans Could “Go F— Themselves!”

“‘I’ll tell you this,’ Emanuel shouted out to his staff. ‘The Republicans may have the 72-hour program. But they have not seen the 22-month program! … Since my kids are gone, I can say it: They can go —- themselves!’”(Naftali Bendavid, “The House That Rahm Built,” Chicago Tribune, 11/12/06)

Emanuel’s Political Style Was “Honed In Chicago” And Has A “Reputation As A Political Street Fighter.”

“But his political style — honed in Chicago and on the presidential campaign trail with Clinton — isn’t gentle or uncertain. His reputation as a political street fighter inspires respect and more than a little fear.”(Naftali Bendavid, “The House That Rahm Built,” Chicago Tribune, 11/12/06)

“[Emanuel] Was Also Zealously Partisan. He Had Once Owned A Consulting Business Devoted To Finding Skeletons In Republican Closets.” (Edward McClelland, “The Legend Of Rahm,” Salon.Com, 5/8/07)

And Emanuel Made Millions As An Investment Banker Off Insider Connections With High-Profile Democrat Donors Influential In The Clinton Administration:
After Leaving His Position With The Clinton White House, Emanuel Worked For Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, An Investment Bank, From 1999 To 2002.

“[A]fter leaving the Clinton White House, [Emanuel] had taken a position at the investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Chicago, where he worked from 1999 to 2002 and reportedly earned $18 million…” (Tony Blankley, “‘Cowboy Capitalism,’” The Washington Times, 10/1/08)

“Congressional Disclosures Filed This Year Show Emanuel Earned $16.2 Million As An Investment Banker, Largely By Brokering High-Profile Mergers And Acquisitions.” (Mike Dorning, “Rahm Emanuel: From Clinton Aide To Money Maker,” Chicago Tribune, 11/9/03)

“Deftly Tapping The Contacts He Made As A Senior Adviser To Former President Bill Clinton, Emanuel Went To Work For One Of Clinton’s Most Active Fundraisers After Leaving The White House In Late 1998.” (Mike Dorning, “Rahm Emanuel: From Clinton Aide To Money Maker,” Chicago Tribune, 11/9/03)

“Emanuel Owes His Investment Banking Job To Bruce Wasserstein, A High-Rolling Wall Street Dealmaker Who Was One Of Clinton’s Most Active Fundraisers In The Financial Community.” (Mike Dorning, “Rahm Emanuel: From Clinton Aide To Money Maker,” Chicago Tribune, 11/9/03)

“Emanuel’s Two Biggest Deals Involved Politically Connected Utilities: One Representing Commonwealth Edison’s Corporate Parent In A Merger And The Other Representing A Buyer In The Purchase Of A Home Security Business From Telecom Giant SBC Communications.”(Mike Dorning, “Rahm Emanuel: From Clinton Aide To Money Maker,” Chicago Tribune, 11/9/03)

“Shortly Afterward, SBC Hired As Its President William Daley, The Commerce Secretary Of The Former Clinton Administration And The Brother Of Chicago’s Mayor.” (Mike Dorning, “Rahm Emanuel: From Clinton Aide To Money Maker,” Chicago Tribune, 11/9/03)

In Philadelphia a video blogger went to the streets to capture the madness cheers for Obama.  In the video cars are honking all over, people are walking in the street and cheers can be heard everywhere.  Meanwhile down at City Hall, people are just plain going crazy with excitement over the announcement that Obama has won the election, and streets are crowded with people. 

But what the man didn't plan on was this;  finding one man who was wearing a McCain t-shirt with police surrounding him.  One officer states to the man "Come back here with me please", leading him away from the crowd.  There doesn't seem to be a riot against the man, he doesn't seem to be in a fight with anyone, he's just simply there.

What the police officer says next to the man is inaudible however, the man says he's not there to cause trouble.  The police officer says to the man "I'm not going to tell you again."  The man replies pointing to his McCain t-shirt that its called "freedom of speech." 

A separate officer attempts to grab the man's arm and he turns to face the other officer and the man finds himself surrounded by now three officers who are forcibly removing him from the street.  What is interesting to note at this moment is that "Boos" and thumbs down are heard and seen from the Obama crowd at this action.

Once the man is on the sidewalk, he is told by the police to just "walk away".  Another officer is heard saying "You know what, don't tell him no more, don't tell him no more, just lock him up."  The man initially stands there and walks over to the man with the camera starting to talk to him, he is grabbed forcefully by the police, [hearing now the crowd behind the scene chanting "Obama.. Obama.. Obama..." while watching the police arrest the man and obviously realizing that the man was wearing a McCain shirt and not an Obama supporter], the man is handcuffed and led away to a police vehicle.

When the man is placed in the police vehicle, cheers can be heard in the background.

One thing to note, the man does have a styrofoam sword in his shirt.  If this were the issue, then when the sword is taken by an Obama fan, then the police would have gone after that person, the the McCain shirt man.

Welcome to Socialism people and the end of your Constitutional Rights aka Martial Law.

Prosperity Bank of El Campo, Texas will acquire all the deposits of Franklin Bank, the FDIC announced.  All deposits have been transferred and are available immediately.

Franklin Bank's 46 offices will reopen as branches of Prosperity Bank under their normal hours, including those with Saturday hours.

As of September 30, Franklin Bank had total assets of $5.1 billion and total deposits of $3.7 billion, the FDIC said.  Prosperity Bank agreed to assume all the deposits, including brokered deposits, for a premium of 1.7 percent.  In addition to assuming all of the failed bank's deposits, Prosperity will purchase approximately $850 million in assets.  The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC estimates that the cost of today's transaction to its Deposit Insurance Fund will be between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion. 

Franklin's stock (FBTX) closed today at $0.26, down 33.33% from yesterday.  Overall the return for FBTX is -93.94% YTD, -96.01% 1 Year, and -98.47% for 3 year.

Franklin Bank is the eighteenth bank to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Texas since Bank of Sierra Blanca, Sierra Blanca, Texas, on January 18, 2008.  The 18 bank failures so far this year compare with three for all of 2007 and are more than in the previous five years combined.

In an interesting side note, Lewis S. Ranieri who founded the Franklin Bank Corporation, spent the last few years warning anyone who would listen that the housing market was about to collapse.  Obviously, he didn't listen to his own words.

The Mortgage Lender "Implode-O-Meter" has an article listing a dozen outstanding law suits against Franklin Bank in June.

And back in July, 2008 Franklin Bank Corp received a notice from the NASDAQ stock market stating it no longer met listing requirements because its share prices had been below the required minimum price of $1 for 30 consecutive days.

ADDITIONAL SOURCES:

• FDIC Press Release 113-2008
• Wall Street Journal, Market Watch
• Forbes
• Corporate Profile via Franklin Bank Web site.

Obama Quote:

"Your own story and the American story are not separate - they are shared.  And they will both be enriched if we stand up together, and answer a new call to service to meet the challenges of our new century... I won't ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States.  This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency." - Obama, December 5, 2007

More from the "Service" part of "Change.gov"

■  Expand Corporation for National and Community Service:  Obama and Binden will expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 today to 250,000...   They will establish a Classroom Corps to help teachers and students, with a priority placed on underserved schools; a Health Corps to improve public health outreach; a Clean Energy Corps to conduct weatherization and renewable energy projects; a Veterans Corp to assist veterans at hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters; and a Homeland Security Corps to help communities plan, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

■  Engaging Retiring Americans in Service on a Large Scale:  Older Americans have a wide range of skills and knowledge to contribute.  Obama and Biden will expand and improve programs that connect individuals over the age of 55 to quality volunteer opportunities.

Other details; 

■  For the 100 hours of service while in college, there will be a new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $4,000 a year (That's $40 bucks an hour).  Obviously not available for "regular" taxpaying Americans and obviously no perks for middle or high school students other than the below YouthBuild.

■  50,000 low-income young people will be part of the YouthBuild program, using them to build affordable housing in their communities while giving them a chance to learn construction job skills thus if you are in construction, say bye bye to possible new projects.

So basically in summary, once the economy stabilizes, taxes will go up, there will be free opportunities for the younger crowd, with expectations of Veterans who have already served their country to "volunteer" , and we the average taxpayer will foot the bill for all of Obama's new programs since there are tax breaks for those in college and those who are retired. 

Oh yes, and lets not forget, that you can say bye by to your 401(k) funds too.  Giving a $500 break per year per person in exchange for $80K+ in 401(k) money is a good deal... if you don't have a 401(k) otherwise, you need to live past 176 to get the same in return ($80K / 500 = 160 years + 16 years (legal age) = 176 years).  Even at $40K, that's 96 years of age.  At 20K, that's 56 years of age.

And don't forget that Obama also plans to use the IRS information it gets from banks to automate your income taxes via pre-filled forms that all you need to do is verify, sign and return.

I would fully expect the Obama Administration to focus on and manipulate that if you don't do your part in the service, then you are not American while I will continue to  support the Constitution of the United States, while it lasts.

Welcome to Socialism folks.

The "Office of the President-Elect" is something that Obama and his campaign has invented.  Basically they just transferred Obama's campaign website over to a dot-gov domain using the Official Seal of the President.  The .gov domain is a sponsored top-level domain restricted for use by government entities in the United States of America.  The .gov domain is administered by the General Services Administration (GSA), an independent agency of the federal government.  All governments in the U.S. are allowed to apply for use of .gov such as atlanta.gov for the city of Atlanta, for example. 

Upon looking up domain information for change.gov, the IP comes back to Internap Network Services Corporation out of Atlanta, GA.  The actual IP location comes back to District of Columbia, Washington with the customer being Blue State Digital in Washington, DC, the same company that hosted his campaign website.  BSD describes themselves as a "leader in online fundraising, advocacy, social networking and constituency development programs for nonprofit organizations, political candidates and causes, and corporations."

So how is Obama using a .gov domain?  Well, there's a sneaky way around it based on the Presidential Transition Act of 1963:

SERVICES AND FACILITIES AUTHORIZED TO BE PROVIDED TO PRESIDENTS-ELECT AND VICE PRESIDENTS-ELECT

Sec. 3 (a) The Administrator of General Services, referred to hereafter in this Act as "the Administrator," is authorized to provide, upon request, to each President-elect and each Vice President-elect, for use in connection with his preparations for the assumption of official duties as President or Vice President necessary services and facilities, including -

(1) Suitable office space appropriately equipped with furniture, furnishings, office machines and equipment, and office supplies as determined by the Administrator, after consultation with the President-elect, the Vice-President elect, or their designee provided for in subsection (e) of this section, at such place or places within the United States as the President-elect or Vice-President-elect shall designate;

(2) Payment of the compensation of members of office staffs designated by the President-elect or vice-President-elect at rates determined by them not to exceed the rate provided by the Classification Act of 1949, as amended, for grade GS-18: Provided, That any employee of any agency of any branch of the Government may be detailed to such staffs on a reimbursable or non reimbursable basis with the consent of the head of the agency; and while so detailed such employee shall be responsible only to the President or Vice-President-elect for the performance of his duties: Provided further, That any employee so detailed shall continue to receive the compensation provided pursuant to law for his regular employment, and shall retain the rights and privileges of such employment without interruption. Notwithstanding any other law, persons receiving compensation as members of office staffs under this subsection, other than those detailed from agencies, shall not be held or considered to be employees of the Federal Government except for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement Act, the Federal Employee’s Compensation Act, the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Act of 1954, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act of 1959;

(3) Payment of expenses for the procurement of services of experts or consultants or organizations thereof for the President-elect or Vice-President-elect, as authorized for the head of any department by section 15 of the Administrative Expenses Act of 1946, as amended (5 U.S.C. 55a), at rates not to exceed $100 per diem for individuals;

(4) Payment of travel expenses and subsistence allowances, including rental of Government or hired motor vehicles, found necessary by the President-elect or Vice-President-elect, as authorized for persons employed intermittently or for persons serving without compensation by section 5 of the Administrative Expenses Act of 1946, as amended (5 U.S.C. 73b-2), as may be appropriate;

(5) Communications services found necessary by the President-elect or Vice-President-elect;

(6) Payment of expenses for necessary printing and binding, notwithstanding the Act of January 12th, 1895, and the Act of March 1, 1919, as amended (44 U.S.C. 111);

(7) Reimbursement to the postal revenues in amounts equivalent to the postage that would otherwise be payable on mail matter referred to in subsection (d) of this section.

(b) The Administrator shall expend no funds for the provision of services and facilities under this Act in connection with any obligations incurred by the President-elect or Vice-President-elect before the day following the date of the general elections held to determine the electors of the President and Vice President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 1 and 2, or after the inauguration of the President-elect as President and the inauguration of the Vice-President-elect as Vice President.

(c) The terms “President-elect” and “Vice-President-elect” as used in this Act shall mean such persons as are the apparent successful candidates for the office of the President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained by the Administrator following the general elections held to determine the electors of the President and Vice-President in accordance with title 3, United States code, sections 1 and 2.

(d) Each President-elect shall be entitled to conveyance within the United States and its territories and possessions of all mail matter, including airmail, sent by him in connection with his preparations for the assumption of official duties as President, and such mail matter shall be transmitted as penalty mail as provided n title 39, United States Code, section 4152. Each Vice-President-elect shall be entitled to conveyance within the United States and its territories and possession of all mail matter, including airmail, sent by him under his written autograph signature in connection with his preparations for the assumption of official duties as Vice President.

(e) Each President-elect and Vice-President-elect may designate to the Administrator an assistant authorized to make on his behalf such designations or findings of necessity as may be required in connection with the services and facilities to be provided under this Act. Not more than 10 per centum of the total expenditures under this Act for any President-elect or Vice-President-elect may be made upon the basis of a certificate by him or the assistant designated by him pursuant to this section that such expenditures are classified and are essential to the national security, and that they accord with the provisions of subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section.

(f) In the case where the President-elect is the incumbent President or in the case where the Vice-President-elect is the incumbent Vice President, there shall be no expenditures or funds for the provisions of services and facilities to such incumbent under this Act, and any funds appropriated for such purposes shall be returned to the general funds of the Treasury.

SERVICES AND FACILITIES AUTHORIZED TO BE PROVIDED TO FORMER PRESIDENTS AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENTS

Sec. 4. The Administrator is authorized to provide, upon request, to each former President and each former Vice President, for a period not to exceed six months from the date of the expiration of his term of office as President or Vice President, for use in connection with winding up the affairs of his office, necessary services and facilities of the same general character as authorized by this act to be provided to Presidents-elect and Vice Presidents-elect. Any person appointed or detailed to serve a former President or former Vice President under authority of this section shall be appointed or detailed in accordance with, and shall be subject to, all of the provisions of section 3 of this Act applicable to persons appointed or detailed under authority of that section. The provisions of the Act of August 25, 1958 (72 Stat. 838 3; U.S.C. 102, note), other than subsections (a) and (e) shall not become effective with respect to a former President until six months after the expiration of his term of office as President.

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 5. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator such funds as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act but not to exceed $900,000 for any one Presidential transition, to remain available during the fiscal year in which the transition occurs and the next succeeding fiscal year. The President shall include in the budget transmitted to the Congress, for each fiscal year in which his regular term of office will expire, a proposed appropriation for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

Approved March 7, 1964

There's one small problem.  Obama IS NOT THE PRESIDENT-ELECT UNTIL JANUARY 6th, 2009.

And obviously, the Obama morons haven't realized the campaign is over, since they still continue to attack McCain on the Office of the President-Elect Web site.

And this is really funny.  On Obama's website, you will find a rss icon for news feeds.  Go ahead and click on it.  You will get a message that the feed does not exist although there are news articles listed.

 

And a week ago, AIG said it would be able to access up to an additional $20.9 billion under the new commercial-paper-funding-facility program.  In total, the government has put about $144 billion at AIG's disposal.

By using the commercial-paper program from the Feds, AIG has been able to reduce the amount it had borrowed under the original $85 billion line of credit.

AIG officials hope these factors will help persuade the government to change it's loan terms, since the government would have the most to lose as both AIG's creditor and controlling shareholder although AIG has managed to pay back about $2.3 billion of their loan.  A week ago the Federal Reserve showed that AIG had loaned AIG $83.5 billion, this week, that number is $81.2 billion.

If you remember, AIG agreed to the government's terms under duress in mid-September, with the expectation that it would be a short-term bridge until AIG could sell assets to meet its obligations.  AIG counterparties have demanded billions of dollars in collateral to ensure AIG stands behind its commitments to make payments in the event of defaults.  If it were unable to meet those obligations, it would prove a risk to the global economy.  This has become a concern for foreign governments, who are pressuring U.S. officials to find a solution.

PERSONAL RANT

AIG took the money, although at the time they state under duress, and now they want to change the terms of the loan because they are having problems paying back the money, that obviously the needed?  Does the word NO mean anything to them?  AIG has played the Feds more than they will ever know, and the Feds have bitten off more than they can chew.  AIG is reminding me of what I call a "bug" that you loan a quarter to because they want a drink at work and are short.  Then a few days later, they ask to borrow fifty cents.  Then a few days later they ask for a dollar.  Then they want to borrow five dollars so they can buy lunch for themselves.....

Seriously, forget it.  Fix your business or let it die because if we keep giving AIG handouts, or changing loan terms, we the taxpayers are going to end up paying for it for the next fifty years.  Especially since Obama has stated only a day after he won the election, that after the economy stabilizes, our taxes are going up.

PREVIOUS POSTS:

• AIG Liddy Demands Apology from Cramer. [And my personal letter to Liddy.]  (10/21)
• AIG Says Goodbye To More Wicked Ways.. [Until They Are Out Of The Spotlight]  (10/20)
• Waxman Request Details of AIG Spending & AIG Wants $10 Billion MORE! [An official WTF moment....]  (10/17)
• AIG Turns From Wicked Ways, Just Like Paris Hilton... [Yeah Right]  (10/17)
• U.S. Representative Paul E. Kanjorski Wants AIG To Reimburse Money  (10/16)
• New York Attorney General Cuomo Warns AIG On Spending Taxpayers Dollars.  (10/16)
• Wanna Know Why AIG Went Bankrupt?  (10/10)
• AIG Cancels Corporate "Convention" in Half Moon Bay and Paulson fires AIG consultant and Other AIG News.  (10/10)
• AIG's $440K "retreat" is "normal" and they are having another one.  (10/08)
• AIG Execs use $440,000 of taxpayers money to take retreat after bailout.  (10/07)

ADDITIONAL SOURCES:

• International Herald Tribune
• Reuters, Reuters

CCS Headline News - Superintendent's Response to YouTube

I was shocked when I saw the clip of an interaction between a Cumberland County Schools teacher and her students as posted on YouTube.  While neutral discussion of the political process is appropriate, at no time, particularly with elementary students, should a teacher infuse his/her political views into the discussion.  Most disconcerting was the military slant that made its way into this discussion.  We are a military community, serving over 15,000 military students and their families.  We value the sacrifices, not only of the military parents but also those of their families.

We believe that military children are our children, military spouses are many of our employees, and military service men and women are our heroes.  We proudly serve our military children and have received national awards for our support of military families.

I was particularly disturbed to see the uncomfortable position in which our children were placed due to the inappropriate actions of one of our teachers.  Please be assured that the actions exhibited in this video are not consistent with the vision of the CCS.  Moreover, the actions of one teacher do not represent the 7000 employees in our organization.

Once the video was brought to my attention, I immediately launched an investigation.  Personnel laws prevent me from releasing information regarding individual employees and personnel action taken.  I can assure you that upon completion of the investigation, I will take appropriate action.

Dr. William Harrison
CCS' Superintendent

Let us just hope that sensitivity training with a slap on the wrist isn't what Harrison is planning for Harris.  This monster of a woman should be terminated, and her teaching certification revoked based upon abusive behavior.

What also disturbs me with her video, is the way she speaks.  First she does not speak proper English, and no I am not talking about her accent.  Remember my family is from the south since the early 1700s.  She does not speak clearly, she uses slang words, and does not use proper formations of sentences.  This "class" is not about learning education, it is about learning to "conform" through intimidation, ridicule, belittling, alienation and abuse.  Education is not about forcing a child to change what they believe, it is about encouraging a child to form an educated opinion about something.

Secondly, it disturbs me for a teacher to use words such as "lord" and "Jesus" in a school environment.  School is not a church, and this is defined by Federal Law.  If you wish to use the defense of she is a Christian woman, well, her actions show anything but being a Christian woman.

But what disturbs me most of all is not Harris' actions, its the lack of reaction in the news.  Searching via Yahoo or Google results in very very few hits on this topic, mostly by bloggers, but no news hits.

I am interested in seeing how the teachers' union reacts also.

Personally this is what I would be saying to Harris:

"Woah Woman, oh woman, don't treat me so mean,
You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen.

Hit the road Diatha and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more....."

THE STORY

Harris is seen asking her class whom they support in the upcoming presidential election.  One student says, "Obama."  Harris encourages her class to speak up.  "And if you are pulling for John McCain, that's fine, say him as well," she says. [Note her tone when she says this.]

One lone John Mcain supporter speaks up, a young girl.  Harris's reply is "Oh lord, John McCain," Harris says on the film.  "Oh Jesus." [As if this poor little girl has lost her way.]  She then asks the young girl why she is pulling for John McCain.  The girl says because her parents are voting for him.  She asks one male black student why he is supporting Obama.  He shrugs his shoulders and replies that he wants a black president.

Another student tells Harris she is supporting Obama because he'll make good changes to the country.  "Now can you tell me just a little bit more, like what type of changes?," she asks the student.  The student says "like not having a fight between Iraq and having soldiers killed."  Harris nods her head in approval.  "So in other words Barack is going to end that war in Iraq," she says.  She then asks the class what they know about the war.

She picks out the little girl who previous said McCain to speak up because her father was in the military.  Harris addresses the young girl, "Now talk to me, because your dad's in the military!"  The young girl looks down and bites her lip.  Harris then yells, "Talk!" to the girl.   The girl remains quiet.  "Its a senseless war," Harris says on the film while staring directly at Kathy.  "And by the way Kathy, the person you are picking for president said that our troops will stay in Iraq for another hundred years if they need to."   At this point Kathy's eyes begin to well up and the other children laugh.   "So that means your daddy is going to be in the military for another hundred years," she tells the child.

THE VIDEO

HARRIS' TAKE ON THE INCIDENT

Harris, in an interview today with the Asheville Citizen-Times, said that's not true.  Harris said that she wasn't advocating for one candidate over the other and that the footage of her lesson is heavily edited. [Note:  The entire video can be seen HERE.  The specific that needs to be watched is from 13:30 ~ 22:00.  The YouTube video is from about 19:00.  Judge for yourself.]

She said her comments of "Oh lord" and "Oh Jesus" were her way of engaging her students to spur discussion.   [I thought any religious statements were not allowed in school by federal law?]

"I wasn't necessarily pulling for one person or the other," she said in a telephone interview from her home in Fayetteville.  "If I was pulling for just one person then I would have never said the other person's name."

She said her comment to the child whose father was in the military was not meant to change the child's mind about supporting McCain.  [Bullshit....]

At the end of the segment, Harris can be seen in her home wearing a Obama button.  She was also filmed at a May "informance" at the school, which is a cross between a performance and an information presentation, wearing an Obama button while talking to kids about voting.

BTW, Harris and her now ex-husband, who was a former member of the Asheville City Schools Board of Education, were visited by George H.W. Bush in 1992.  Here's the scoop.

NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT

On the McCainSpace website, a comment was left by ro4jands stating. "Happened here in PA at my daughter's school.  She called Palin stupid and anyone who supported her was stupid."

And another comment, this time from K_D:  "I heard a parent call in on a radio program this morning telling of a similar story concerning her daughter and a teacher."

Gee, must take a real person, a professional teacher, to bully young students.

THE INFO YOU NEED

This woman should be FIRED and her license taken away.  What Christian woman belittles a little girl and lies to a little girl for stating her beliefs?  Obviously this teacher is NOT a Christian woman for such an act.  I applaud the girl for being so brave when her beliefs are obviously not the majority.  And if there was a way for me to contact her parents I would tell the little girl I applaud her for stating what she believes.  Do not EVER let anyone tell you how to think, that is your right and your freedom.  And that I am sorry that she had to experience something like that from such a horrible person.  And never EVER lower your head because your father is in the military.  EVER.  Your father is something to be proud of.  This teacher is something to be ashamed of and someone to feel sorry for based on her actions.

If Harris  is not at least suspended until a hearing, I would file for a restraining order against this woman if I were the parents of this little girl.  First she belittles a girl, it does not matter what the topic is.  Second, she brought religion into the classroom.  I wonder how Harris' children feel knowing that their mother is a teacher who is abusing her position by belittling and embarrassing a young fifth grade girl for being brave enough to speak what she feels.

And I will be calling the school tomorrow to let the administration know that if that were my child, then Harris and the School Board would be getting a call from my attorney and the ACLU.  I have NO TOLERANCE for the young and innocent being picked on when they had done nothing wrong but answered a question, forced to answer a question, by a horrible monster of a teacher.

Diantha Harris teaches 5th Grade at Mary McArthur A+ Elementary School, 3809 Village Drive, Fayetteville, NC, 28304.

Harris's contact page at the school is:  http://www.mmes.ccs.k12.nc.us/email/dithaharris.htm  Chances are though, based on the email address below, you can reach Harris at DianthaH@ccs.k12.nc.us or DianthaH@mmes.ccs.k12.nc.us

The principal is Lola Williams:  LolaW@ccs.k12.nc.us

Cumberland Schools Superintendent  is William C. Harrison (910-678-2300)

Board of Elections in Fayetteville, NC is 910.678.7733 and the Director is Terri Robertson.  Her email address is boardofelections@co.cumberland.nc.us .

The Board of Elections Supervisors are:

lll@nc.rr.com
KimberlyPFisher@aol.com
GregWest@nc.rr.com
MacWilliams@nc.rr.com
hfarrior@nc.rr.com
DLaHuffman@nc.rr.com
fkbarragan@nc.rr.com
Royalme@nc.rr.com
MackyH@nc.rr.com

SOURCES:

• Citizen-Times, Asheville, NC

PRESIDENT-DESIGNATE

So what is the president-designate?  Well, first one is officially the president-elect only after being chosen by the Electoral College, but unofficially the person chosen in the November general election.  He is the presidential-designate until the Electoral College meets and elects the president.

The Electoral College consists of the popularly elected representatives who formally select the President and Vice President of the United States; since 1964 the electoral college has had 538 electors.  In 2008, it will make its selection on December 15.

POPULAR VOTE

So how does this effect the Presidency?  Well "We the People" rather than directly voting for the President and Vice President, cast the popular vote or votes for electors.   Each state has a number of electors equal to the number of its Senators and Representatives in the United States Congress, which is based by the 2000 census.   Electors are technically free to vote for anyone eligible to be President, but in practice pledge to vote for specific candidates.  The ticket that receives the most votes statewide 'wins' a certain party's Electors.  So when you vote, you are not voting for President, but you are voting for pledged Electors to a specific candidate.  So thus when you vote, you are voting for the "popular vote".  From the popular vote determines how many Electoral Votes will be given to designated Electors to a certain party.

Forty-eight states and DC have adopted a winner-take-all popular vote where voters choose between statewide slates of electors pledged to vote for a specific presidential and vice presidential candidate.  The candidate that wins the most vote in the state wins the support of that state's electors.   For example, California has 55 Electoral votes. Since California went Obama or Democratic, that means that 55 Electors that represent California, will have votes that have pledged a vote for Obama.  In two other states, Maine and Nebraska, the used a tiered system where a single elector is chosen within each Congressional district and two electors are chosen by statewide popular vote.   

Thus, U.S. presidential elections are effectively an amalgamation of 51 separate and simultaneous elections (50 states plus DC), rather than a single national election.  This is based on our Constitution that was designed to be a mixture of state-based and population-based government.  The Congress would have two houses, one state-based (Senate) and the other population-based (House of Representatives) in character, while the President would be elected by a mixture of the two modes, giving some electoral power to the states and some to the people in general.

ELECTORAL VOTE

Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution states:

Each State shall appoint, in such a Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress:  but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 4 of the Constitution states:

The congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

Article II, Section 1, Cause 3 of the Constitution provided the original fashion by which the President and Vice President were to be chosen by the electors.  The primary difference was that each elector voted for two Persons for President, rather than one vote for President and one vote for Vice President.  After the choosing of the President, whoever had the most electoral votes, among the remaining candidates, would become the Vice President.

The design of the Electoral College was based upon several assumptions and anticipations of the Framers of the Constitution:

1. Each state would employ the district system of allocating electors.
2. Each presidential elector would exercise independent judgment when voting.
3. Candidates for either office would not pair together on the same ticket.
4. The system as designed would rarely produce a winner, thus sending the election to Congress.

However the Twelfth Amendment replaced Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 which allows electors to cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice President.

Electors chosen meet in their respective state capitals on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December, at which time they cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for President and Vice President.  In 2008, that meeting will be on December 15.

After voting, the electors complete the Certificate of Vote.  This document states the number of electoral votes cast for President and Vice President, and who received these votes.  Five copies of the Certificate of Vote are completed and signed by each Elector.  Multiple copies of the Certificate of Vote are signed, in order to provide multiple copies in case one is lost.  One copy is sent to the President of the U.S. Senate (the sitting Vice President of the United States) by certified mail.

The Certificates of Vote are collected by the Office of the Vice President and prepares them for the joint session of Congress.  The Certificates are arranged - unopened - in alphabetical order and placed in two boxes.  Alabama through Missouri are placed in one box, and Montana through Wyoming are placed in the other box.

The envelopes are not opened upon receipt or before they are put in the respective boxes.  The Twelfth Amendment mandates that the Congress assemble in joint session and federal law mandates that such joint session to count the votes and declare the winner take place on January 6 in the calendar year immediately following the meetings of the presidential elections.  The boxes are brought in, and each house appoints two tellers to count the vote.  If there are no objections, the presiding officer declares the result of the vote.

The thing to remember here however, is that just because a candidate won the popular vote, does not necessarily mean they will win the electoral vote.  This has happened in 1876, 1888 and 2000.  Electors who do not vote what they are pledged are called a  "faithless elector."

FAITHLESS ELECTORS
A faithless elector is one who casts an electoral vote for someone other than whom they have pledged to elect, or who refuses to vote for any candidate. 

There are laws to punish faithless electors in 24 states.  In 1952, the constitutionality of state pledge laws was brought before the Supreme Court in Ray v. Blair, 343 U.S. 214 (1952).  The Court ruled in favor of state laws requiring electors to pledge to vote for the winning candidate, as well as removing electors who refuse to pledge.  As stated in the ruling, electors are acting as a functionary of the state, not the federal government.  Therefore, states have the right to govern electors.

The constitutionality of state laws punishing electors for actually casing a faithless vote, rather than refusing to pledge, has never been decided by the Supreme Court.

ELECTORAL VOTE TIES

PRESIDENCY (House of Representatives)
If for some reason no candidate for the Presidency receives a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives is required to go into session immediately to vote for President.  In this event, the House is limited to choosing from among three candidates who received the most electoral votes.  Each state delegation votes en bloc - its members have a single vote collectively.  A candidate must receive an absolute majority of state delegation votes (currently 26) in order for that candidate to become the President-elect.  Additionally, delegations from at least two-thirds of all the states must be present for voting to take place.  The House continues balloting until it elects a President.

VICE PRESIDENCY (Senate)
If however, no candidate for Vice President receives an absolute majority of electoral votes, then the Senate must go into session to elect a Vice President.  The Senate is limited to choosing from only the to two candidates to have received electoral votes (one fewer than the number to which the House is limited).  The Senate votes in the normal manner in this case.  However, two-thirds of the Senators must be present for voting to take place.

Additionally, the Twelfth Amendment states that a "majority of the whole number" of Senators (currently 51 of 100) is necessary for election. 

The only time the Senate chose the Vice President was in 1837.

DEADLOCKED CHAMBERS
If the House has not chosen a President-elect in time for the inauguration (noon on January 20), then Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment specifics that the Vice President-elect becomes Acting President until the House should select a President.  If the winner of the vice presidential election is also not known by then, then under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the sitting Speaker of the House would become Acting President until either the House should elect a President or the Senate should select a Vice President.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

However, just because a candidate wins the popular vote, does not mean that a candidate will still be president.  This has happened in 1876, 1888 and 2000.  This is not "stealing the vote", or changing the popular vote.  The popular vote remains the same (the people) however, electors changed their vote which has not been determined constitutionally illegal by the Supreme Court.

So thus, as of this exact moment, until the Electoral Vote has been completed, Barack Obama is only the Presidential Designate, not the President-Elect, or even President.

And what I find said, is that so many newspapers are reporting Obama as the President-Elect, and showing that they know nothing about the United States Constitution.  Have a look: 

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers, he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’ They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20′, declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right’, exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!’
‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Second Report:  GOP Election Board members are being tossed out of polling stations in at least a half dozen polling stations in Philly because of their party status, which is illegal in the state of PA.  It is the duty of election board workers to monitor and guard the integrity of the voting process.   A PA judge previously ruled that court-appointed poll watchers could be NOT removed from their boards by an on-site election judge, with violations being a criminal misdemeanor and subject to a fine of $1,000 with a jail term of 30 days to 1 year.

Some of the precincts where Republicans have been removed are:  the 44th Ward, 12th and 13th divisions; 6th Ward, 12th division; 32nd Ward, Division 28.

A McCain-Palin spokesman stated "Election board officials guard the legitimacy of the election process and the idea that Republicans are being intimidated and banned for partisan purposes does not allow for an honest and open election process."

The Democrats are saying that the polling station is crowded and election board members needed to cycle through the areas intermittently.

This is already being heard in court according to PA Secretary of State Pedro Cortes, and is not the same story that Democratic officials told Fox News earlier this morning.

No word from the Obama Camp... as if that is a surprise.

And one other quote, but not from Obama, but from Emirsyah Satar this time, the CEO of Garuda Indonesia.  Satar, remembered the young Barry both as playing football and as being Muslim.  He too recalled Barry coming to the prayer room wearing a sarong.  He also stated  that not only did he change his name from Barry Soetoro to a more Islamic name Barack Hussein Obama, but he remained a Muslim all his life and that his later conversion to Christianity in 1992 was perhaps not so sincere, that he only changed his religion only so that he could marry Michelle.  (The Obama Nation, Corsi & Corsi, pg. 63-64)

But yet, on Obama's "Fight the Smears" website, the following quote is found: 

"Barack Obama is a committed Christian.  But shameful, shadowy attackers have been lying about Barack's religion, claiming he is a Muslim instead of a committed Christian.  ...  Make sure everyone you know is aware of this deception." 

Oh Yeah?  There is one problem, the website doesn't address or state he was never a Muslim.  Wording is everything in Obama's campaign.  In a three month time period, Obama's campaign went from describing Obama as never having been a Muslim to never having been raised Muslim to never having been a practicing Muslim, to Obama is a committed Christian......

What about quotes from Obama himself, people in Obama's family, and of childhood friends and associates?  So they are all lying and fabricating also?  So everyone in the world is lying, except Obama?

I do not believe that Obama is currently a practicing Muslim however, I believe he was until around 1988 -1992.  And how will I believe that Obama isn't still a  Muslim at heart?  Show me his Baptismal records from Rev. Wright's church, since Obama claims he's a Christian.  And lets see him eat some pork... then I will believe that he is NOT a Muslim.  Until then...........

But don't believe me, read on........ if you want to form your own opinion of the truth on Obama and his relationship with Islam.

Also, please note, if you send physical or death threats of any kind, I will forward them to my local police and the FBI.  If you leave a comment that includes profanity, it will not be published since obviously your intelligence doesn't allow you to leave constructive comments.

Lets take a look at the coalition of activists who have long histories of turning demonstrations into riots.  The list of signatories accompanying the "Call to Action" include:

• Tom Hayden - founder of Studies for a Democratic Society (SDS), 1960s riot organizer, collaborator with the Vietcong and North Vietnamese communists during the Vietnam War, and continuing Marxist activist.
• Marcus Raskin - SDS theoretician and co-founder of hte Institute for POlicy Studies (IPS), the infamous Marxist activist center and think tank closely tied to the Cuban DGI and Soviet KGB.
• Leslie Cagan - Militant lesbian, Marxist, feminist, professional activist; currently national coordinator for United Pease and Justice, one of the nation's largest anti-war coalitions of far-left organizations; longtime member of the Communist Party USA and early member of the Venceremos Brigades that went to Cuba in the 1960s for communist training; left the CPUSA with other top communist leaders in 1991 to found a splinter group, the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism.
• Jessie Jackson - Founder and president of Rainbow/PUSH.
• Michael Lerner - SDS leader and a founder of the Seattle Liberation Front (SLF), an ultra-left terrorist organization that committed acts of bombing and sabotage; later became famous as publisher of Tikkum magazine and Bill and Hillary Clinton's guru on "the politics of meaning"; now an ordained rabbi promoting the same Marxist nostrums with a religious veneer.
• Sharon Lungo - Organizer for the anarchist, violence-prone Ruckus Society.
• Maude Hurd - National president of ACORN.  [Now that's what you call 'irony']
• David Swanson - Washington Director of Democrats.com, board member of Progressive Democrats of America, and working-group member of Leslie Cagan's United Peace and Justice.

On October 21, David Swanson posted this incendiary blog, adding kerosene to the "Call to Action". 

A Mccain "Win" Will Be Theft, Resistance Is Planned

If your television declares John McCain the president elect on the evening of November 4th, your television will be lying.  You should immediately pick up your pre-packed bags and head straight to the White House in Washington, D.C., which we will surround and shut down until this attempt at a third illegitimate presidency is reversed....

We will see McCain supporters on November 4th challenging people's right to vote, seeking to force people to vote on provisional ballots, and seeking to have provisional ballots discarded.  And we will see electronic vote counts wildly out of step with the most recent pools, although not with exit polls - which we will be denied any access to unless they have been "adjusted" to match the official counts.

But yet on Swanson's personal blog he called Obama a "socialist darkie who pals around with terrorists and supports infanticide take the reigns of the global empire in the only world he [God] created, and which he spent a full six days on without bathroom breaks, surely it's time the deity began looking for alternative employment." [Okay, I though anyone who went against Obama was a RRRAAAAACCCCCIIIIISSTTTT, but yet someone who's for Obama calls him with terms of "socialist" and "darkie" and isn't racist?  I'm soooo confused.]

Sounds to me like Swanson hasn't heard about how in And what about polling places that seem to forget to synchronize their voting machines, hurting anyone who votes.  Is it NOT YOUR responsibility that when you press a section on the screen to ENSURE that the checkmark goes to the right box?

Also Swanson (isn't that a TV dinner?) seems to forget about how disabled people are being coached to vote for Obama?

"They told me to vote for Obama, I said no I wanted to vote for McCain," Jack Justice told GA TV station WALB-TV.  An investigation is being called for in California over disabled voters.  Or an incident in Iowa where a mother states her disabled adult son was brought to the polls without her knowledge or consent, where an aide 'took the liberty' of filling out his ballot.  She claims that she never took him to register to vote, that the homes staff registered him to vote.  They take him to vote, and a home staff member told him who to vote for (Obama) and was actually the person who helped him to vote.  In Manteca, CA and Sonora, parents of developmentally disabled adults in San Joaquin County say staff member at a care facility overstepped their bounds by registering clients to vote.  Now I believe that anyone has a legal right to vote however, I don't think that those who are legally disabled should be snuck behind their caretakers backs to vote without permission of the caretaker.  And it is NOT the responsibility of anyone but the legal caretakers to help them to vote, take them to the polling place, and help them vote.

Personally, to me, this is a direct threat against the United States, and could be considered "terroristic" activity to state that if Obama loses, then it is a lie.  So if that is the case, they why are we even having an Election if they [the nut jobs] have already decided who is to win, no matter the vote?  And yea, I'm name calling.  If you don't like it, then don't act like a psycho!  What do you think you are going to do, start a revolution and a new civil war between Socialists err... Democrats and Republicans?  So what about those of us who don't follow all three..err....either major party?  Hmmmmmmmmmm?

Needless to say....

• Chicago, IL will treat the day as a major event with all 13,000 of the department's officers on call and working 12-hour shifts in anticipation for as many as a million people in downtown Grant Park Tuesday.  Off duty firefighters are to take their helmets, breathing tanks and other gear home until after the election, just in case. 
• Los Angeles, CA will see extra squad cars at polling places, but the deputy chief added that "people are going to riot or conduct themselves inappropriately depending on who gets in."
• Albany, GA has been working with the U.S. Justice Department to train officers to work at the polls.
• Detroit, MI will have most of the city's 3,000 officers working.
• Washington, DC's Mayor has announce that they "have plans to make sure election night crowds, celebrations and demonstrations don't get out of hand."
• Houston, TX will have police stationed near unnamed polls as potential crowd control and the Mobility Response Team will be available to address traffic control if necessary.
• NYC, officers will be stationed outside voting precincts.
• Louisville, KY
• Cincinnati, OH
• Memphis, TN is increasing 100 patrols;
• Birmingham, AL doors to the main school buildings are being locked where schools are doubling as polling stations with Birmingham Police on site; 
• The Lynchburg, VA police is gearing up for Election Day;
• Atlanta, GA "local law enforcement agencies are planning for possible civil unrest following Tuesday's election."
• Miami, FL's preparations include extra police officers, and students will have the day off.  And interestingly enough, Florida Power & Light crews will be standing by to fix outages.
• Sacramento, CA includes removal of political signs from freeway overpasses and pedestrian bridges today.
• Oakland, CA police plan to deploy extra traffic officers and riot-control units, as well as have SWAT teams on standby.
• Jacksonville, FL "police will be available Tuesday night as the votes are counted and the results released."
• Las Vegas, NV will not have officers sent to polling places, but a Captain will be in the county's elections command center in case of any problems.

And on the other side of the coin....

• Minneapolis, MN, additional officers will not be on the street.
• Baltimore, MD "police 'leave' is canceled, meaning every available officer will be on duty, just in case."
• Kansas City, MO police chief has barred KC police from schools on Election Day however, some school districts are asking the chief to change his mind.
• North Las Vegas and Henderson NV Police departments do not plan on adding any extra officers on Nov. 4

Philadelphia

From the FDIC Website:

"Freedom Bank, Bradenton, Florida, was closed today by the Commissioner of teh Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named reeiver.  To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Fifth Third Bank, Grand Rapids, Michigan, to assume all of the deposits of Freedom Bank.

As of October 17, 2008, Freedom Bank had total assets of $287 million and total deposits of $254 million.

The FDIC estimates the cost of the failure to its deposit-insurance fund will be between $80 million and $104 million."

Michigan based Fifth Third Bank assumed all of Freedom Bank's deposits for a premium of 1.16%.  Fifth Third will also purchase roughly $36 million of Freedom Bank's assets.  The remaining assets will be retained by the FDIC for later disposition.

Rickey McCullough, ombudsman with the FDIC stated:  "For [customers] it's transparent.  It's business as usual."  "There were no uninsured deposits in this transaction.  All the depositors were insured, even the ones over the new $250,000 limit."  All deposits were insured because they were assumed by Fifth Third Bank, McCullough said.

The bank posted a net loss of $7 million for the second quarter and had lost $14 million year-to-date.  At the end of the third quarter, Freedom Bank's losses for the year stood at $18 million.  Freedom Bank was struggling with roughly $35 million in non-performing loans.

New temporary signs had already gone up at Freedom Bank's four branches Sunday.

Freedom Bank was the 17th bank to fall this year.

SOURCES:

• Bradenton Herald
• Tampa Bay Business Journal
• Tampa Bay Business Journal
• Tampa Bay Business Journal

Circuit City has 10 days to respond to the NYSE that it plans to get its stock back above $1.  In the meantime, the company's CC ticker symbol will be followed by a ".BC" to show it' below continued listing standards.

On Oct. 20th, the Wall Street Journal reported that Circuit City was considering closing at least 150 stores and cutting thousands of jobs. 

On Google Finance boards a person posted "In the e-mail from our SD, it says this is NOT a holiday kick off meeting.  It is the result of a SD only conference call that happened earlier today."  This is in regards to a Sunday morning meeting at 9 AM company wide for CC employees.

Now, it is rumored that CC is going to be closing 155 stores and withdrawing from 12 markets by Dec. 31st.   This is supposedly going  to be announced tomorrow, Monday, at 8 AM.  Also supposedly store employees were notified this morning, Sunday. (See letter left) Employees in certain departments, like car installation, and Firedog, will likely be out of a job within 48 hours. 

The letter above, obtained by The Consumerist states, "Circuit City has not yet determined whether it will provide severance pay in connection with this layoff.  You will be provided with further information at a later date.  You will continue to be bound by the terms and provisions of the Circuit City Code of Business Ethics."  [Probably, in other words, they can not take a job with Best Buy or another competitor for at least one year which is pretty commonplace.]

Also according to The Consumerist, a CC insider reports, "Liquidators will be coming in on Tuesday and the affected stores will be shut down.  There is likely not going to be a severance package for us being affected by the layoffs but we were given the option to get a bonus based on how many hours we worked under the liquidation process.  We are not allowed to transfer to other locations and have to wait out the liquidation process before we apply.  So essentially, we will have to take a paycut, a position cut, and more than likely an hours cut if we want to still work for the company."

SOURCES:

• Reuters
• CNet
• Google Finance, Google Finance

The USPS offer, which had to be approved by the federal Office of Personnel Management, is open to employees who are at least 50 years of age with 20 years of creditable federal service, or any employee with 25 years of creditable federal service.  The USPS sent out a total of 156,000 early retirement solicitations for three stages. 

In Sept., nearly 3,700 employees had accepted early retirement offers in the first three rounds of early-retirement offers, representing about 5% of the 72,000 who were eligible in the first round, expiring Sept. 30.

The second round of early-retirement offers, which expires Nov. 21, targets 67,000 letter carriers, headquarters staff and motor vehicle and maintenance employees.  The third and final round, which expires Jan. 16, is available to 17,000 field management employees and postmasters.

Officials anticipate that between 3% and 5% of the eligible population will apply for the early out, said a USPS spokesman.  If the numbers aren't good enough, for the first time in history, the USPS may have to consider layoffs.

William Burrus, president of the American Postal Workers Union has stated that "It makes little sense to leave a good paying job with benefits to enter the troubled economy unless there is incentive to do so."  "Their target is 6% and I don't suspect they will meet that."  The reason for his statement is that currently no incentives are attached to the early-retirement.  For another, postal workers are no longer civil-service employees.  Their money for the future goes into the Federal Employee Retirement System, which rides the crest of the stock market.  It seem that while the union would like to see incentives attached to the early-retirement offer, the USPS has adamantly said no.

The problem is that mail volume has dropped 12% in fiscal 2008, causing the USPS to spend $2.3 billion more than it made during the year.  If the postal service can't increase mail volume, it won't have enough money to pay staff.

"Unless they tell Congress they don't have the money to pay these guys, they will have to lay people off," postal expert Murray Comarow, who led the commission that was responsible for restructuring the Postal Service in 1971. "  Congress has denied the USPS the ability to raise postage rates to cover costs.  A legal restriction was enacted two years ago against raising the price of most services beyond the rate of inflation.  "I don't know what else they could do except trying to change various constraints in the law that are more limiting of USPS management than any other company in the private sector," he said.

Additionally when fuel prices were high this past summer, it played a big factor in additional costs for the USPS.  For every penny gas goes up, it costs the USPS $8 million for their 200,000 vehicles in its fleet.

Things are not looking much better economically in other areas of the shipping industry.  DHL, who has said it will lose about $1.3 billion this year, is in the midst of a restructuring effort.  DHL and UPS are negotiating a contract through which UPS would provide air transport services for DHL's North American business for 10 years. 

Meanwhile, FedEx Office has announced layoffs saying it is cutting 650 jobs, including 200 domestically.  It also said it might close 20 US retail locations in the next nine months.  The company has already pulled out of Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands.

SOURCES:

• Federal Times
• Labor Notes
• KY Post
• DM News
• PennLive
• APWU, APWU, APWU

In a Nov. 4, 2004 Chicago Sun-Times article, Obama was quoted as saying:

"I was elected yesterday," Obama said.  "I have never set foot in the U.S. Senate.  I've never worked in Washington.  And the notion that somehow I'm immediately going to start running for higher office just doesn't make sense.

"So look, I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years, and my entire focus is making sure that I'm the best possible senator on behalf of the people of Illinois."

"My understanding is that I will be ranked 99th in seniority. ... I'm going to be spending the first several months of my career in the U.S. Senate looking for the washroom and trying to figure out how the phones work."

... and his own plans to establish "a top-flight constituent service office" and travel the state to thank and listen to Democrats and Republicans alike to devise "concrete ways" to improve jobs, education and health care in Illinois.

"And that's my complete and total focus during this new adventure that I'm walking into," he said.

"It's important for me to show the voters of Illinois the degree to which I am concerned with the people of Illinois, because I think that the hype that's surrounded my campaign during this last phase needs to be corrected," he said.  "People need to recognize that the job I've applied for and that they have hired me for is to be the best U.S. senator possible for the state of Illinois."

"I am not running for president in 2008," Obama said.  "I mean, come on guys.  The only reason I'm being definitive is because until I'm definitive you will keep asking me this question, but it's a silly question."

"I am not running for president.  I am not running for president in four years.  I am not running for president in 2008." - Barack Obama, Nov. 3, 2004, (Chicago Tribune, February 15, 2006)

Let's take a look at a few of the comments that were left on that page, over two years ago.

• "OH NO!!! I consider this man's actions and voting to be near criminal.  I can hardly tolerate that the people of this state appreciate him and wonder what happened to this state." - Ricky
  
• "Obama is just not ripe enough.  Two years on the Senate floor is not enough national exposure. ..." - Elbow Roomer
  
• "While I am an avid supporter of Senator Obama I think 2008 is too early.  I think his position of serving at least one full term as Senator is wise not only in appearance but in practice." - Chris
  
• "I don't think Obama is ready, and is probably too liberal to woo moderate Republicans.  He should run for VP instead." - AJP
  
• "How is Mr. Obama even remotely qualified to be President?  What experience does he have other than several unremarkable years as a first-term Senator?  He has not run a state as a governor, nor has he run so much as a hot dog stand as a businessman.  His only talents, as far as I can tell, is that he is a black man who speaks like a white man while he parrots the party line and looks good in a suit. ... " - Red Stater
  
• "I hope he runs, but not in 2008.  It's too soon." - jlp
  
• "I'm a Republican, but from what I've seen of Obama so far, I think he might make a fine President.  However, I do think he needs to serve out at least one full term as Senator, get some political experience under his belt and do as much as he can for our State." - Rebecca
  
• "Come on people be for real.  Bush has 8 years experience as Governor of the second largest state.  I'm not here saying he's a great President, but the idiots saying Obama has similar experience are rediculous." - Stewart
  
• "Obama's far too short to blow his political keg so quickly.  He'll be 54 in 2016, and I think that will be the first time he runs for president.  Personally, I'd love to see him run for Illinois governor in 2010. - Jim
  
• "He's way too liberal to have a chance at winning.  I'm amused at the people who don't think he is liberal, what show are they watching?" - Joe

From a Feb. 11, 2007 Chicago Sun-Times article:

"I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness - a certain audacity - to this announcement," the freshman U.S. senator said.  "I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington.  But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."

He provided no details, but Obama offered to try to solve nearly every problem vexing the nation - ending poverty, capping climate-changing greenhouse gases, extending healthcare in his first term, making college more affordable, providing comfortable retirement for workers, reducing dependence on foreign oil and combating terrorism.

"But all of this cannot come to pass until we bring an end to this war in Iraq," he said.  "America, it's time to start bringing our troops home."