From Alter Net

At this point, is an Obama victory a cinch? Maybe not. Consider this New York Times reporting published on Oct. 24: "Pollsters say there has never been a year when polling has been so problematic, given the uncertainty of who is going to vote in what is shaping up as an electorate larger than ever. While most national polls give Mr. Obama a relatively comfortable lead, in many statewide polls, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain are much more closely matched. Even a small shift in the national number could deliver some of the closer states into the McCain camp, making an Electoral College victory at least possible."

In fact, it's possible that Obama could win a clear victory in the popular vote while McCain manages to claim enough electoral votes to move into the White House. Crucial to such an outcome would be Missouri (which, as the Times notes, "has been a bellwether in every White House race during the last century except 1956"). Is taking that risk worth the satisfaction of getting a couple percent of the vote for Ralph Nader for president in 2008?

On the two health care plans, Bob Herbert quotes the Tax Policy Center that says:

Mr. Obama’s plan is the better one because it would cover far more of the uninsured, spread risks and costs more equitably and result in more comprehensive coverage for most Americans. We fear Mr. McCain’s plan would jeopardize employer-based coverage without providing an adequate substitute. At a time when so many employers are reducing or dropping coverage, that is not a risk that the country can afford to take. The $5,000 tax credit would not go far for coverage for families that now have to spend $12,000 for barely adequate coverage.

Today President Bush showed up at the Republican National Committee headquarters to campaign for McCain. I wonder how McCain really felt about that since Obama says McCain voted with the president 90% of the time and that has been a very strong argument for Obama and his call for change.

A Scary Prospect

This very disturbing story is breaking this afternoon:

A plot by two Neo-Nazi skinheads to assassinate Barack Obama and kill dozens of other African Americans has been foiled, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said Monday.

Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., were charged Friday with making threats against a presidential candidate, illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun and conspiracy to rob a gun store.

Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville ATF field office, said the two men sought to go on a national killing spree that included an unnamed African-American school, with Obama as their final target.

The two planned to shoot 88 black people and decapitate another 14, he added. The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community.

They said that would be their last, final act — that they would attempt to kill Sen. Obama,” Cavanaugh said. “They didn’t believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying.”

The world is full of nuts. If Obama is elected and I believe he will be unless the Bradley Effect occurs, his life will be constantly in danger....even more then the usual president because our society is so racist.

What a tragedy!When will Americans finally learn to live with one another in peace? Why do we have so many drive-by shootings and so much violence in this country? There are more inmates in American prisons then there are populations in some countries.

And, no, even in this enlightened age, we still cannot guarantee a fair trial for African Americans. Just look at the list of people cleared by the Innocence Project. African Americans predominate.

Quiet Day

This has been a welcome quiet day after all the exciting events of last week. I did some cleaning this morning then after lunch Bob and I went to the market to pick up a few things for dinner.

My friend came over this morning and we discussed at length her problem with her married daughter and their relationship stalemate. I agreed to be their go between as an objective outside observer who loves them both. I believe we have the dilemma solved. I have e-mailed her daughter our suggestion for the compromise. I am waiting for her return from work and her answer. It will be wonderful if this problem could be solved. Sometimes communication is all that is needed and she had refused to communicate with her mother but would communicate with me.

I have read the rest of the afternoon and Bob has read and slept. Even Missy Kitty is sleeping here behind me on the daybed. It is brisk out now. I dread winter.

Sixty Minutes

Sixty Minutes had another program this evening on those credit default swaps that are causing all the problems in the economy right now. Credit default swaps are totally unregulated. They were also completely illegal for most of the twentieth century. It was in the year 2000 when the very rich convinced congress to make them legal. It was called the Commodity Exchange Act of 2000.

Credit default swaps were a kind of derivative… a side bet. The bet was whether people would default on their mortgages. The rich didn’t have to actually buy the mortgages to make money on them. Instead they bought the swap..which was the same thing as insurance except it couldn’t be called insurance because the insurance industry is regulated.

Then the mortgage market began to fail. Everyone wanted to get paid on those credit default swaps. But there was nothing backing up the swaps. So with such great demand, the markets really began to fail. There was no money behind the "insurance".

The previous regulation was put in place following the great depression. Bucket shops were the latest thing then and people, with a mind to make some fast and easy money, bought stocks with very little down and the rest on credit. This problem today is very much like that one. Now we know why the regulation was put in place initially.

Deregulation., according to Alan Greenspan, was one of his mistakes. In order for deregulation to work, he said recently, you must have honest people and too many of these people who made their fortunes since 2000, had no ethics. Bill Clinton and Alan Greenspan, who was the most powerful man in Washington at that time, both thought deregulation was a good thing. But Jim Grant of Grant's Interest Rate Observer said Greenspan also said there was not enough oversight for it to work. A free market only works when folks are honest.

What are hedge funds? They are an investment company that uses high-risk techniques, such as borrowing money and selling short, in an effort to make extraordinary capital gains. Hedge funds are personal opportunities for only the rich...they are called the Credit Opportunities Fund. They are casino capitalism and let’s face it, capitalism is greed driven. There was a complete lack of transparency in these transactions.

So now who is paying for these rich folks mistakes? We are. The middle class will be paying for the rich's mistakes. Do you think they will suffer for them? Not on your life. It's the pension funds of folks like you and me that will suffer. And our grandchildren will be paying off this enormous debt.

Three years ago, while Bob was gone on a disaster, I decided something unsavory was going on to drive the market up the way it was going. I knew this country had a major recession every twenty years and it was past due. I took what little I had left out and just put it in a CD at 4% interest. At least I still have that.

Busy Sunday

We got up early this morning and I fed the animals and fixed breakfast before we left for church school and church. I had the bulletin to print since Bob was presiding this morning. There were 19 at church this morning. For us, a nice crowd. I sent out nine "we missed you at church today" notes this afternoon.

But I'm getting ahead of my story. After church, our daughter and son-in-law went to lunch with us at El Puebleto. It was good, as usual. Then we changed our clothes and went back out to the campgrounds to take down all the decorations from last night's party and put them away. I wrapped all breakables and labeled the boxes so Cyndi could find them again at Halloween next year. That took two hours. We came home and Bob took his Sunday afternoon nap and I did my aforementioned notes. They're all done now and it's 5:05.

We will get a bowl of chocolate chip ice cream and watch 60 minutes here in a little while.

The Wedding Day

This is the big wedding day. Jeff and Cyndi will be married tonight at 7:00. Then next weekend our son and his son, our grandson, will be here for a weekend visit. Our grandson, Jerod, is in the coast guard and this is his second leave. He spent his first leave with his mom and sister in Texas.

The following weekend, my good friend, Karan, and her fiance, Bob, will be married and a minister friend of his and I will perform that ceremony too. It will be held at our church with a dinner following the ceremony at the church. I must be beginning to be thought of as "Marrying Margie". This photo is of Bob and Karan.

But at least the pace has slackened. Next week is nice and quiet.

Wedding Rehearsal

I Went out to the campgrounds this morning where we are holding the wedding tomorrow evening and helped decorate for the Halloween party reception following the wedding. We worked until two thirds of the way through the afternoon then I came home and rested awhile before going back at 5:30 for the rehearsal. Bob got too cold. I hope he doesn't get sick over this.

Following the rehearsal we went to a local steak house for a wonderful steak rehearsal dinner. Bob and I were the first to leave. It is now 9:30 and Bob just went to bed. I will take my bath after doing this blog and join him. We may have a big day tomorrow if we do the rehearsal again. Certainly the party following the wedding will be a big deal. But the place looked wonderful when we finished decorating.

These are such neat kids. They are very loving and considerate of me too. They hoped the idea of a Halloween party following the wedding would not offend me. I told them it was Their wedding...not mine and they could have it the way they wanted it. They were very sweet about it.

This picture is of Cyndi with Jeff's daughter with her. The other picture is of the area where they will be married .