[News] The Lackluster campaign Newsletter - July 26, 2008

[Carlos Mock]

“The media-bias charge would be bad news, if it were true, Sentor. But I
think your real problem is worse: You are the victim of a lackuster
campaign. I say this, by the way, as one of your longtime defenders. have
a soft spot in my heart for my fellow Vietnam-era veterans. And, as hitory
is your witness, you certainly sacrificed a heckuva lot more in that wa
effort than I did. It's been so hard to find excitement in your news eventslately, you're making my profession look bad. Please cut it out. ”  ClarencePage


McCain vs. Obama World By Clarence Page.  Copyright © 2008, ChicagoTribune.
July 27, 2008.  Memo to John McCain: You're probably kicking yoursel right
about now for goading Barack Obama into getting out to see the world.
That's like throwing ol' Br'er Rabbit into a briar patch. Before you could
say "photo o," the junior senator from Illinois was turning Obama Nation
into what ooked like Obama World.   You said Obama needed to return to
Iraq, wherehe had not been in more than two years, and find out the real
truth on te ground. You must have known trouble was afoot when Obama agreed
to expand hat idea into a fact-finding tour of the Middle East and Europe,
too, witha sizable chunk of America's news anchors, reporters and TV
cameras beggingto come along.   You must have known it was a good omen for
Obama and, as suh, bad for you when Obama joined some of our troops on a
basketball court i Kuwait—and threw a long-distance basket from behind the
three-point line. S-wish! Ah, for the good old days, you must have thought,
when Obama was awkwadly trying to bowl his way though the Pennsylvania
primary.  
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ml

Young Republicans worry about McCain's appealBy Chris Lawrence.  Copyright
by CNN News.  (CNN) -- From cyberspace to colege campuses, many young
conservatives are worried that Sen. Jon McCain is not appealing to their
generation.  Sen. John McCain says he kows how important young voters are.
At a town hall meeting in Ohio this monh, a student told McCain that
Republicans were a dying breed on his campus  "I understand the challenge I
have, and I understand that this election i really all about the people of
your generation," McCain said.  Many youngRepublicans said Sen. Barack
Obama -- the 46-year-old junior senator frm Illinois -- is inspiring voters
their age, but McCain -- the 71-year-old enator who has been in office
since the early '80s -- is not.  Eric Pearlmuter, a member of the Young
Republicans at the University of Southern Californi, said the roaring
enthusiasm that follows Obama is missing among conservaties his age.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/young-republians-worry-
about-mccains.html

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Worldly sccess for Barack Obama.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Pblished: July 25 2008 19:54 |
Last updated: July 25 2008 19:54.  Barack Oama’s world tour was a success.
Nothing went wrong for the Democratic party cndidate for the US presidency.
And four big things went right.  The firstand most important success was in
Iraq. Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime miniter, effectively endorsed Mr
Obama’s plan for a withdrawal of American troops That has blunted one of
the most dangerous attacks on the Democrat – thathe is prepared to throw
away hard-won progress in Iraq.  And there were tree other big pluses for
Mr Obama as he progressed from Afghanistan to the Midle East and then on to
Europe.  In Afghanstan, the evident deterioration of the security situation
has served to bolster Mr Obama’s argument that Iraq has been a distraction
from the “central front n the war on terror” – in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
http://iretiredfromnesletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/financial-times-editoria
l-comment_26.html
A big story is our biggest bias By Clarence Page.  Copyright © 2008, Chiago
Tribune.  July 23, 2008.  A respected group of media researchers has ound
that Barack Obama gets a lot more coverage than John McCain. I didn't eed a
think tank to tell me that. After all, Madonna gets more coverage tan
McCain does, even when she doesn't want it—although it is hard to imaine
when she wouldn't.   Obama gets more media attention than John McCain
ecause, as we have heard over and over again, Obama is the "rock star" of
oday's political scene. McCain, by contrast, is an attractive candidate andwar hero who is less intriguing precisely because, in a political wold
where "fresh" and "new" has become the highest virtue, we know him sowell.
Even some liberals have a lot of affection for the Arizona senator asa man
and maverick, even when he's been talking a lot less maverick lately But,
running against Obama often brings to mind grumpy ol' Mr. Wilsn chasing
Dennis the Menace off his lawn.   The public tells us media workrs this
with their viewing and reading habits. For example, a Time magazine2006
issue with Obama on the cover was Time's econd-best-selling issue of the
year, and a September 2006 issue of Men's Vogue with Obama on the cover
outsold every issue but the debut, according to The Washington Post.
Newsweek agazine has done six issues with Obama on the cover over the past
year, two ith McCain. Rolling Stone has given Obama two covers in the last
year. Ifthey don't know rock stars, who does?
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/big-story-is-our-biggest-bias-by.html

Is McCain's Age Showing? Tongues Wag Over Flubs By Howard Kuz.  Copyright
by The Washington Post.  Wednesday, July 23, 2008; Page C01. We interrupt
the nonstop coverage of Barack Obama's overseas trip to bring yu some
breaking whispers about John McCain.  He has been making a seriesof verbal
slips -- invariably described as "gaffes" -- that are starting to icochet
from liberal blogs to the mainstream media. And fairly or not, ome critics
are suggesting the 71-year-old Republican candidate is showing hs age.
McCain referred to the "Iraq-Pakistan border" in a "Good Morning Amerca"
interview; since there is no such border, he must have meant
Afghanista-Pakistan. He has twice referred to Czechoslovakia, a country
that ceased t exist in 1993; mixed up Sunnis and Shiites; and identified
Vladimir Putin as president of Germany.  Aides to the Arizona senator
dismiss the missteps as meaningless, noting that their man is far more
accssible to journalists than Obama. "When you engage with reporters from
:30 a.m. till 8 at night, you're bound to make a gaffe," says McCain
communcations director Jill Hazelbaker. "People are yearning for the kindof president who takes tough questions, and that's who John McCain
is."/McCai gaffes pile up; critics pile on By MIKE ALLEN & JIM VANDEHEI.
Copyright b Politico.com.  7/22/08 5:13 AM EST.  A string of erroneous word
choices is elping opponents make his 71 years a matter of age, not
experience.  Sen.John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “Iraq” on Monday when he
apparently meant Afghanistan”, adding to a string of mixed-up word choices
that is giving ammnition to the opposition.   Just in the past three weeks,
McCain has also mstaken "Somalia" for "Sudan," and even football’s Green
Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Ironically, the errors have been
concentrated inwhat should be his area of expertise: foreign affairs.
McCain will turn 72 th day after Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) accepts his
party’s nomination for prsident at the age of 47, caling new attention to
the sensitive issue of McCain’s advanced age three days before the start of
his own convention.  The McCain campaign says Obama has had plenty offlubs
of his own, including a reference to "57 states" and a string of misstaed
place names during the primaries that Republicans gleefully sent aroud as
YouTube links. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-mccains-age-showing-t
ongues-wag-over.html

McCain's own Tony Rezko - LINCON S&L - Arizona senator received rebuke by
ethics panel  BY ABDON M. PALASCH Political Reporter.
apallasch at suntimes.com.  Copyright by The ChicagoSun-Times.  July 21, 2008.
Amid crumbling bungalows on Chicago's South Sid or ranch-style homes in the
Phoenix suburbs, an ambitious politician canstill get too close to a
wheeler-dealer developer.  Democratic presidential cndidate Barack Obama
admits it "was a boneheaded move" for him to buy proerty from his friend
and donor Tony Rezko's wife after headlines proclaimedfederal investigators
were looking into Rezko's manipulation of state pensin boards for his own
profit. Rezko was later convicted on 16 fraud counts. The candidates'
dangerous liaisons.  Republican candidate John McCainadmitted he made a
"serious error" in not reporting free trips to the Bahams he took on friend
and donor Charles Keating's private jet. McCain was ne of the "Keating
Five" senators who met with federal regulators to askthem not to crack down
on Keating's failing Lincoln Savings and Loan.  eating's political hardball
bought him an extra two years. Dring that time, the cost to tax-payers of
bailing out his thrift grew from $1.2 billion to $3.4 billion.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/mccains-own-tony-rezko-l
incoln-s.html

McCain Still Waitingfor His Turn at Good Luck By Michael D. Shear.
Copyright by The WashingtonPost.  Thursday, July 24, 2008; Page A06.  It
seemed like a great way to couter Obamamania. Sen. John McCain would board
a helicopter in New Orleans toay, skim quickly over the Gulf of Mexico and
land on an oil rig -- a made-fo-TV moment to highlight his call for
offshore drilling, an issue that Repulicans believe will be a big winner in
November.  Then came Hurricane Doly, a Category 2 storm that made a
helicopter ride impossible. And then, imprbably, a 600-foot oil tanker
collided with a barge on the Mississippi Rive, creating a 12-mile oil slick
and causing diesel fumes to waft over the cty's French Quarter. The trip
was off.  In this campaign, it seems, McCain ust can't catch a break.
Through a series of missteps, gaffes and bad luc, the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee has endured a difficult wek in what has
been a choppy campaign. He now has no major event to offse Sen. Barack
Obama's speech at Berlin's famed Victory Column, where a huge tunout is
expected. Instead, he will be in Columbus, Ohio, speaking at a nightime
cancer event./Obama's Tour de Force By David S. Broder.  Copyright by Te
Washington Post.  Thursday, July 24, 2008; Page A19.  It made no sense hen
Barack Obama left the country on his nine-day overseas tour for soe of my
fellow columnists to describe it as a high-risk venture.  Forign leaders,
who can read the polls as well as anyone, would go out of ther way not to
embarrass a man who may, six months from now, be president of he United
States.  Obama prepares thoroughly for the big occasions. He isalmost
always well briefed, and he was traveling in sharp company -- with Sens.
Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel -- so you knew he would be ready for these
meetings. The chanceof a major screw-up was minimal.  And as millions of
Americans who watched he primary campaign learned, Obama is invariably
articulate. There would e no verbal gaffes.  So where was the risk? It
existed mainly in the mind of some journalists and, perhaps, in the musings
of Obama staffers who waned to hype the journey.  Acknowledging all that,
it is still the case that Obma is pulling off this trip in great style and
thereby has enhanced hisOval Office credentials.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/208/07/mccain-still-waiting-for
-his-turn-at.html

Video – Mc Cain Who?
http:/www.linktv.org/video/2763?gclid=CNDDjLeS3pQCFQOuFQodaE5TRA

NBC News defendedtheir coverage of Barack Obama. They've been accused of
giving himmore favorable treatment than John McCain. And today NBC News
denied it. Tey said, "That's ridiculous, we've never even hed of John
McCain." (Jay Leno)

To give you an idea how bad things are for McCain right now, the only way he
could get less coverage is if he got a primetime show on NBC (Jay Leno)

Back Oama for commander-in-chief By Gideon Rachman.  Copyright The
Financial Time Limited 2008.  Published: July 21 2008 18:38 | Last updated:
July 21 208 18:38.  The American economy is in a mess. The US is involved
in two draning wars. The Republican party is deeply unpopular. The McCain
campaign isin chaos.  So why is Barack Obama just four points ahead in the
polls?  ne answer is that Americans think that John McCain, the Republican
candiate for the presidency, would make a much more convincing
commander-in-chie than Mr Obama, his Democratic rival. According to one
recent poll, 72 pe cent of Americans think Mr McCain would be a good
commander-in-chief Just 48 per cent thought the same of Mr Obama.  Mr
Obama’s world tour is desgned to counteract the idea that he is an innocent
abroad. But it cannot realy offset Mr McCain’s record as a military veteran
and his decades of expence in foreign affairs.  For all Mr McCain’s
credentials, however, there i still one powerful reason to prefer Mr Obama
as America’s next commander-in-hief. He is much less likely than Mr McCain
to unash another “war of choice” by attacking Iran.  The two candidates’
positions on other foreign policy issues are closer than they would care to
acknowledge. Both aim to increse America’s commitment in Afghanistan. And,
despite the bitterness of ther exchanges over Mr Obama’s plan for
withdrawal from Iraq, circumstances migh push them towards similar
policies. In a recent interview with Fareed Zakara, Mr Obama would not rule
out the idea that the US might have up to 0,000 troops left in Iraq 10
years from now. 
http://iretiredfromnewsleters.blogspot.com/2008/07/back-obama-for-commander
-in-chief.html




Intrnational

“In the end, the difference between Obama and McCain might com down to
something beyond ideology -- temperament. McCain is a pessimist abut the
world, seeing it as a dark, dangerous place where, without the constan and
vigorous application of American force, evil will triumph. Obama sees aworld that is in many ways going our way. As nations develop, they become
ore modern and enmeshed in the international economic and political system.To him, countries like Iran and North Korea are holdoutsagainst the tide of
history. America's job is to push these progressive forces forward, using
soft power more than hard, and to try to get the world's major powers to
solve the world's major problems. Call him an Optimistic Realist, or a
Realistic Optimist. But don't call him naive.” Fareed Zakaria

Obama, Foreign Policy Realist By Freed Zakaria.  Copyright by Newsweek.
July 21, 2008.  The rap on Barack Obama, at least in the realm of foreign
policy, has been that he is a softheaded idealist who thinks that he can
charm America's enemies. John McCain and his campaign, conservative
columnists and right-wing bloggers all paint a picture of a liberal dreamer
who wishes away the world's dangers. Even Pesident Bush stepped into the
fray earlier this year to condemn the Illinis senator's willingness to meet
with tyrants as naive. Some commentators have acted as if Obama, touringthe
Middle East and Europe this week on his first trip abroad since effectivly
wrapping up the nomination, is in for a rude awakening.  These critiques,
however, are off the mark. Over the course of the campaign against Hillary
Clinton and now McCain, Obama has elaborated more and more the ideas that
would undergird his foreign policy as president. What emerges is a world
view that is far from that of a typical liberal, much closer to that of a
traditional realist. It is interesting to note that, at least in terms of
the historical schools of foreign policy, Obama seems to be the cool
conservative and McCain the exuberant idealist.  No candidate for the
presidency ever claims to have a doctrinal world view. Richard Nixon never
said he loved realpolitik. Jimmy Carter never claimed to be a Wilsonian.
There's no advantage to getting pigeonholed, and most politicians and even
policy folk are clever enough to argue that they want to combine the best of
all traditions. So John McCain says he's a "realistic idealist." Former
national-security adviser Anthony Lake, who now counsels Obama, calls
himself a "pragmatic neo-Wilsonian." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
describes herself as an "American realist."
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/obama-foreign-policy-rea
list-by-fareed.html

Karadzic arrested in Belgrade By Neil Macdonald in Belgrade and Stefan
Wagstyl in London.  Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published:
July 21 2008 22:32 | Last updated: July 22 2008 11:55.  A picture shown to
reporters at a press conference in the Hague on Tuesday showed an
unrecognisable Karadzic, markedly thin, with a long white beard and flowing
hair.  Radovan Karadzic, the wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs arrested on
charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, had been living freely in
Belgrade under an elaborate disguise and working in alternative medicine, it
was announced at a press conference in the Hague on Tuesday.  Mr Karadzic
was seized in a suburb of Belgrade on Monday after more than a decade on the
run from international justice. He was indicted on 15 charges, including two
of genocide. He will be sent for trial to the UN war crimes tribunal in the
Hague once legal obstacles are cleared, prosecutors said on Tuesday.  One of
the world’s most wanted men, Mr Karadzic was captured by Serbian security
officers, according to a statement issued by the office of Boris Tadic, the
Serbian president. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/karadzic-arrested-in-bel
grade.html

EU widens Zimbabwe sanctions By Tony Barber in Brussels.  Copyright The
Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 22 2008 16:25 | Last updated:
July 22 2008 16:27.  The European Union on Tuesday broadened its sanctions
against supporters of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, in spite of
tentative steps towards an easing of the severe tensions between government
and opposition.  EU foreign ministers said they were adding the names of 37
individuals and four companies to a list of more than 130 of Mr Mugabe’s
relatives and officials who are blacklisted by the 27-nation bloc.  By
giving their approval to the new sanctions, which were agreed in principle
last week, the ministers made clear that EU governments remained to be
convinced that the new talks on power sharing in Zimbabwe would bring about
meaningful political change.  In a deal mediated by Thabo Mbeki, South
Africa’s president, Mr Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the Zimbabwean
opposition leader, decided on Monday to hold two weeks of negotiations aimed
at reaching a power sharing agreement.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/eu-widens-zimbabwe-sanct
ions.html


China

Human rights activists have sent a letter to President Bush, asking him to
raise human rights issues with the Chinese government during the Olympics.
Unfortunately, they also sent a letter to the Chinese government asking them
to bring up human rights issues with President Bush. So, it's pretty much a
wash. (Jay Leno)

International Herald Tribune Editorial: The world will be watching China's
unreality TV.  Copyright by The International Herald Tribune.  Published:
July 22, 2008.  China has gone to extraordinary lengths to spruce up its
image before next month's Olympics: shuttering factories to reduce air
pollution, mopping up algae in sailing waters, harassing critics and
threatening journalists.  To win the right to act as host to the Games,
Beijing promised to expand press freedoms for foreign reporters and implied
that opening China to the world would help expand human rights more
generally.  We will never know whether China's leaders intended to keep
their word. What we do know is that the International Olympic Committee,
corporate sponsors and governments around the world should have held China
to its word. They have not, and China has read their silence as complicity.
China has jailed critics, denied visas and threatened news organizations
that negative coverage could jeopardize their chance to cover the Games.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_22.html

Threat of ‘no-fun’ Olympics By Mure Dickie, Geoff Dyer and Jamil Anderlini.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 18 2008 20:47 |
Last updated: July 18 2008 20:47.  Just three weeks before the Beijing
Olympics, concerns are growing that China’s sweeping security measures could
end up sucking all the fun out of the world’s biggest sportsfest.
Pre-Olympic jitters are almost a tradition but a Chinese visa crackdown that
has sent visitor numbers plunging, heightened security checks, dire warnings
of terrorist attack and curbs on Beijing nightlife have led to some
observers dubbing the 2008 Olympics the “no-fun Games”.  Michael Payne, the
International Olympic Committee’s head of marketing for the two decades to
2004, said that in meetings with top Beijing organisers he has stressed a
single word of advice: smile.  “The biggest challenge they have to face now
is ensuring that the security doesn’t suffocate the festival,” Mr Payne
said. “The Olympics are only special if there is a festival outside the
venues.”  The atmosphere was less than festive this week at a checkpoint in
Yanjiao on the outskirts of Beijing, one of hundreds thrown up around the
capital where police with laptops and sniffer dogs halt traffic.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/threat-of-no-fun-olympic
s.html

China’s currency needs to rise further By Morris Goldstein and Nicholas
Lardy.  Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 22 2008
20:13 | Last updated: July 22 2008 20:13.  T he currency regime China
adopted three years ago this week is faltering. Official reserves grew by a
massive $280bn (£140bn, €177bn) in the first half of 2008. The central bank
has strengthened controls on capital inflows. Consumer price inflation has
risen to 8 per cent. The currency has become more flexible and appreciated
about 20 per cent against the dollar. But on a real trade-weighted basis the
appreciation has been only 15 per cent. China’s current account surplus has
soared, from 3.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 2004 to 11.3 per cent
last year.  The under-valuation of the renminbi has in fact increased in the
past three years because the equilibrium value of the currency, the value
consistent with economic fundamentals, has risen even faster, as its
external surplus has mushroomed and as rapid productivity growth in export
industries has enhanced China’s competitiveness. The appreciation in China’s
real trade-weighted exchange rate is only about a third to a half of what is
needed. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International
Monetary Fund, recently characterised the renminbi as “substantially
under-valued”. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/chinas-currency-needs-to
-rise-further.html

Making a Dent in China By: Patricia Nell Warren. Copyright by The Bilerico
Project and Patricia Nell Warren.  July 20, 2008 12:00 PM.  Some years ago,
I was visiting two Chinese friends, wife and husband, at their home in Palos
Verdes. Both of them, and their well-to-do families, had somehow survived
the Cultural Revolution and succeeded in leaving the People's Republic of
China many years before that. Yet despite their opposition to communism,
their love for their mother country was still strong. As we sat in their
living room and talked, I was noticing the collection of family antiques
that they'd managed to bring to the U.S. with them, now casually displayed
in a big glass cabinet -- everything from Ming porcelains (1400-1600) to
Shang bronzes (1500 BC).  The wife saw me noticing. She talked feelingly
about the sense of continuity and connection with their motherland that the
collection radiated into their home.  "It's about all those ways that endure
for thousands of years," she said, "no matter what kind of government is
running the country, and how well or badly they're running it. No matter
whether people are living well or times are hard. That's something that many
Westerners will never understand about China. That's why foreign religions
never made a dent in China. The missionaries tried hard, but Christianity
never dented us, and never will shop TLA video.
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l



Mess-o-potamia

The benefits of presidential term limits By Carlos T Mock, MD.  July 19,
2008.  Back in June, when Mr. Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for
President, his idea of withdrawing American troops from Iraq in sixteen
months after taking office seemed naive. We even had the Republican Party
presumptive nominee saying that troops would stay in Iraq for a “hundred
years.”  What a difference a month makes! Just a few days before meeting
with Mr. Obama, the Iraqis agreed yesterday to commit the US to a “time
horizon” for withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq, a significant shift
by a lame duck president who has long opposed setting target dates for
ending the war.  The president struck the agreement with Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki on Friday as part of negotiations over the long-term future
of US forces in Iraq.  A White House spokesman denied the agreement
represented a U-turn, arguing it was consistent with existing strategy to
gradually hand control back to the Iraqis as security improved. “These are
aspirational goals, not arbitrary timetables based on political expediency,”
he said. Mr. Obama has reformulated his position on the withdrawal of US
forces so many times—latterly twice in the space of a few days—that one’s
head spins. The McCain campaign has produced an eight-minute video
compilation of these iterations, and it hits home. Most recently, Mr. Obama
has again stiffened his commitment to bring combat troops home within 16
months of the election, playing down any conditions and qualifications.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/benefits-of-presidential
-term-limits.html

Bush's shifting foreign policy undercuts McCain By Elisabeth Bumiller.
Copyright by The international Herald Tribune.  Published: July 26, 2008.
WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush and John McCain have long been in
agreement on major elements of U.S. foreign policy, particularly in their
approach to Iran and North Korea and in their commitment to staying the
course in Iraq.  But now the administration's agreement to consider a "time
horizon" for troop withdrawals from Iraq have moved it, at least in the
public perception, in the direction of the policies of Barack Obama,
McCain's presumptive Democratic foe in the U.S. presidential election. That
has thrown McCain on the political defensive in his opposition to a timed
withdrawal, Republicans in the party's foreign party establishment say.  On
Friday, McCain went so far as to say that the idea of a 16-month withdrawal,
which Obama supports, was "a pretty good timetable," although he included
the caveat that it had to be based on conditions on the ground.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/bushs-shifting-foreign-p
olicy-undercuts.html

McCain's confusion on Iraq By Steve Chapman.  Copyright © 2008, Chicago
Tribune.  July 24, 2008.  If there is any fixed position in John McCain's
policy agenda, it's that we must never, ever, set a timetable for leaving
Iraq. He regularly flogs Barack Obama for proposing to withdraw by the
summer of 2010. So it was a surprise to hear him say Monday, when asked if
our troops might depart in the next two years, "Oh, I think they could be
largely withdrawn, as I've said."  I guess that makes it unanimous. This
week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he's amenable to bidding the
U.S. goodbye on Obama's schedule. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
indicated his forces also will be heading home soon.   Even President Bush
has now come around to establishing a "time horizon" for "the further
reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq." In other words: "We're going to
leave, but it's none of your business when."  Despite creeping toward
withdrawal himself, McCain continues to lambaste Obama for setting a
timetable. But if the current policy is the stunning success depicted by
McCain, it should be eminently practical to turn Iraq over to the Iraqis by
the middle of 2010. If it is impossible to do that, more than seven years
after the occupation began, how can McCain say the existing strategy is
working?  
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/mccains-confusion-on-ira
q.html

Obama’s troop withdrawal plan wins support By Demetri Sevastopulo in
Washington.  Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 22
2008 20:10 | Last updated: July 23 2008 00:44.  Barack Obama, the Democratic
presidential candidate, on Tuesday welcomed the “growing consensus” around a
timetable for withdrawing US troops from Iraq.  Speaking in Jordan following
a two-day visit to Iraq, Mr Obama stressed that Iraqi leaders were ready and
willing to take responsibility for security. “The best way to support Iraqi
sovereignty and to encourage the Iraqis to stand up is through the
responsible redeployment of our combat brigades.”  Mr Obama and John McCain,
his Republican opponent, have amplified their rhetoric on Iraq in recent
weeks as the steady improvement in security has shifted to debate to
questions of when the US should withdraw its troops.  Mr Obama has vowed to
withdraw US combat forces within 16 months of becoming president. He gained
momentum over the weekend when Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister,
appeared to back his plan in an interview with Der Spiegel. Mr Maliki’s
spokesman claimed the comments were misinterpreted, but then later said Iraq
hoped US troops could leave Iraq by the end of 2010, just eight months
beyond the timeframe set by Mr Obama.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/obamas-troop-withdrawal-
plan-wins.html

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Next steps: Leave Iraq, focus on Afghanistan.
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times.  July 21, 2008.  As Barack Obama tours
the Middle East this week, Americans must grapple with a thorny question.
The surge is working, and the United States and Iraq have agreed to set some
sort of "time horizon" -- as yet unspecified -- for a further reduction of
American troops.  So now what?  President Bush has been rightly hammered for
leading America into a battle of little benefit to our country and for his
prosecution of the war once we were there.  Now, he deserves praise for the
success of the surge and the apparent breakthrough agreement with Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.  But as Bush heads out the door, we must
consider the plans of both men vying to replace him.  They leave us leery.
Obama has called for a complete withdrawal of combat troops by 2010, but he
can't allow that deadline to turn into a trap. He can't be compelled by
politics to meet such a specific timetable if the ground shifts beneath us
in Iraq -- always an obvious possibility.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/chicago-sun-times-editor
ial-next-steps.html





National

The national minimum wage increases by 70 cents today to $6.55 per hour,
meaning Americans now need to work just two hours per day to be able to
afford to drive to work. (Jake Novak)

International Herald Tribune Editorial: A Texas wildcatter rides the wind.
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune.  Published: July 22, 2008.
The legendary wildcatter and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens has decided
that drilling for more oil is not the answer to America's energy problems.
President George W. Bush should listen to his longtime political ally.  The
80-year-old Pickens does not oppose drilling. He's been doing it for most of
his life. Nor has he become a born-again eco-warrior. But he knows something
that his friends in the White House won't acknowledge: that a nation holding
less than 3 percent of the world's oil reserves while guzzling 20 percent of
the world's production will never be able to drill its way out of its
dependency on foreign oil.  He also considers it absolute madness -
financially and in terms of national security - to be spending $700 billion
every year on imported oil.  His answer is to develop wind power in states
with steady, forceful winds (like Texas) and use it instead of natural gas
to produce electricity (natural gas now generates about one-fifth of the 
power in the United States). He would then use the natural gas saved to fuel 
cars and trucks. He predicts that oil imports would drop by 40 percent and 
the United States would save $300 billion a year. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_9185.html

 



Chicagoland

Chicago Tribune Editorial - And they get a raise?  Copyright by The Chicago 
Tribune.  July 18, 2008.  Anyone who's ever managed a family budget 
understands that paring your spending to match your income is rarely 
painless. For those of us dealing with household-size budgets, the $1.4 
billion that Gov. Rod Blagojevich sliced from next year's state budget 
sounds excruciatingly painful, especially when amplified by the anguished 
cries of those afflicted by the cuts.  It's worth remembering that the $28.3 
billion left on the table when Blagojevich finished his work is $800 million 
more than the previous year's budget. Fully 70 percent of the governor's 
cuts simply eliminated increases over last year's spending. Lawmakers had 
approved an additional $515 million for schools, for example, but the 
governor cut construction costs, laptop computers and other items to trim 
the increase to $330 million.   There were casualties, to be sure. Many 
social service agencies face real funding cuts. Child welfare services, 
substance abuse programs and transit subsidies for students and disabled 
riders all took hits. And the governor couldn't resist gouging some of his 
political nemeses, including Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, daughter of Illinois 
House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who had backed an 
unsuccessful move to let citizens recall state officials, not that we're 
naming names or anything. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/chicago-tribune-editoria
l-and-they-get.html

Left speechless? By Clarence Page.  Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.  July 
20, 2008.  When a microphone at Fox News Channel caught Rev. Jesse Jackson's 
cutting under-his-breath remarks about Barack Obama, it turns out that 
"nuts" was not the reverend's only troubling N-word.   Besides whispering to 
another guest on the set that he would like to de-sex the Democratic 
presidential candidate, Jackson also accused Obama of "talking down to black 
people . . . telling niggers how to behave."   Jackson has since issued two 
statements of apology for his self-described "trash talking." He also might 
issue this word of advice: If you want to whisper something that could be 
damaging if traced back to you, don't whisper it over a microphone.   Am I 
surprised by Jackson's use of the racial slur? Not really. I was more 
surprised to hear that so many other people are shocked, especially 
non-African Americans.   Ethnic etiquette has always given greater latitude 
to epithets expressed about one's own ethnic group, as long as they are 
expressed inside of one's ethnic group. That's how people talk within one's 
family or ethnic group, especially when you regard your ethnic group as 
affectionately as you regard your nuclear family.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/left-speechless-by-clare
nce-page.html 




Your Lack of Money

President Bush said that Wall Street "got drunk," and now it's "got a 
hangover." If they have the hangover, why is it that we all have the 
headache? (Pedro Bartes)

Cherished myths fall victim to economic reality By Paul De Grauwe.  
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 22 2008 19:09 | 
Last updated: July 22 2008 23:14.  The financial crisis continues to create 
victims. Not only people but also some of our most cherished ideas risk 
falling by the wayside. Take the hugely influential idea that financial 
markets are efficient. Its proponents told us that when financial markets 
were left free, they would work miracles. Savings would be channelled to the 
most promising investment projects, thereby boosting economic growth and 
welfare. In addition, these financial markets would spread risk around over 
a large number of participants, thereby lowering the risk of doing business, 
again boosting growth and welfare. In order to achieve these wonders, 
financial markets had to be freed from the shackles of government control.  
The country that embodied these principles most was the US. Helped by the 
missionary zeal of successive American administrations and pushed by 
international financial institutions, country after country freed their 
financial markets from pernicious government controls, hoping to share in 
these economic wonders.  The credit crisis has destroyed the idea that 
unregulated financial markets always efficiently channel savings to the most 
promising investment projects. Millions of US citizens took on unsustainable 
debts, pushed around by bankers and other “debt merchants” who made a quick 
buck by disregarding risks. While this happened, the US monetary authorities 
marvelled at the creativity of financial capitalism. When the bust came, a 
large number of Americans who had been promised a new life in their 
beautiful homes were told to move out. This boom and bust cycle cannot have 
been an example of efficient channelling of savings into the most promising 
investment projects. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/cherished-myths-fall-vic
tim-to-economic.html

Costco warning adds to US retail gloom By Daniel Pimlott in New York.  
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 23 2008 14:59 | 
Last updated: July 23 2008 14:59.  Costco, the largest warehouse club chain 
in the US, warned that fourth-quarter earnings would be “well below” 
analysts’ expectations, as it battled higher energy costs and maintained 
lower prices to retain customers.  The company, which has hitherto benefited 
from US consumers “trading down” to less expensive stores amid the slowing 
economy, said its earnings would suffer as higher oil prices cut into 
margins at its petrol stations and it absorbed cost inflation on goods “to 
help drive sales and maintain the confidence of our members”.  ”Factors 
negatively affecting our fourth quarter earnings outlook arise largely from 
inflation, particularly as to energy costs,” said Richard Galanti, chief 
financial officer.  Costco’s customers pay an annual fee to shop at its 
warehouse clubs, which sell everything from cut-price computers and fresh 
foods to bathroom supplies.  Costco said it now expected fourth-quarter 
earnings per share to fall far short of current Wall Street estimates of 
$1.00. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/costco-warning-adds-to-u
s-retail-gloom.html

Financial Times Editorial Comment: The lost decade.  Copyright The Financial 
Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 25 2008 19:59 | Last updated: July 25 
2008 19:59.  The S&P 500’s earnings season is in full swing, but for US 
equity investors, the outlook is hardly clearer than it was a month ago.  
Investors who made short-term punts on financial stocks in the past 
fortnight could have made a killing, or been killed, depending on the day of 
the bet: financial shares had gained more than 20 per cent in 10 days, and 
then on Thursday suffered their worst fall since 2000. At such times it is 
tempting for amateur day-traders to ride the roller-coaster. That temptation 
is worth resisting: bear markets are unforgiving playgrounds.  For the 
longer-term investor, a mixed earnings season has provided little 
information. Few investors, anyway, are setting too much store on recent 
earnings. Commodity companies are enjoying windfalls that may or may not be 
repeated. Bank results are viewed with suspicion, because too much lies 
beneath the surface to provide great confidence. For the record, they were 
awful, but not as awful as investors had expected. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/financial-times-editoria
l-comment-lost.html

US regulators seize two more banks © Reuters Limited.  WASHINGTON, July 25 – 
US regulators took over two banks on Friday and sold them to Mutual of Omaha 
Bank, the sixth and seventh bank failures this year as financial 
institutions struggle with a housing bust and credit crunch.  Two weeks 
after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp seized IndyMac, the Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency said it closed First National Bank of Nevada and 
First Heritage Bank NA of California.  First National had total assets of 
$3.4bn and $3bn in deposits while First Heritage had assets of $254m and 
$233m in deposits, regulators said.  The FDIC said the cost of the 
transactions to its insurance reserve is estimated to be $862m, adding that 
the two failed banks represent just 0.3 per cent of the $13,400bn in total 
industry assets at about 8,500 FDIC-insured institutions.  The FDIC said the 
28 offices of the two banks will reopen on Monday as Mutual of Omaha Bank. 
Over the weekend, customers can access their money by writing checks, using 
automatic teller machines or debit cards.  
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/us-regulators-seize-two-
more-banks.html

Regional US banks in fears of cash calls By Saskia Scholtes in New York.  
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 20 2008 20:47 | 
Last updated: July 20 2008 20:47.  US regional banks will draw scrutiny 
during earnings season this week amid fears that losses on home equity and 
residential construction loans may force some to raise fresh capital or put 
themselves up for sale in turbulent markets. Shares of regional lenders have 
come under heavy pressure on fears about the ability of smaller institutions 
to ride out the turmoil in the banking sector.  Such fears were thrown into 
stark relief last week after US banking regulators took over 
California-based IndyMac, making it the second-largest banking failure in US 
history, and leading to queues of anxious depositors outside branches.  
After mixed earnings reports from regional lenders thus far, a flurry of 
banks with large portfolios of real-estate loans will report their 
second-quarter results on Tuesday, including SunTrust, Regions Financial, 
Fifth Third and KeyCorp, while National City will follow on Thursday. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/regional-us-banks-in-fea
rs-of-cash.html

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Bad debts mean more bank bids.  Copyright 
The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 20 2008 19:22 | Last 
updated: July 20 2008 19:22.  Last week was not glorious for the banking 
industry. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needed government support; regional 
savings banks in the US wobbled, and one of them, California’s IndyMac, 
failed; investors responded to a succession of capital-raisings by UK banks 
with disdain; and Merrill Lynch, the Thundering Herd itself, announced yet 
another $9.4bn in writedowns on its assets. Yet what is now happening – more 
than a year after the first subprime problems emerged – is that problems are 
being brought into the open: and admitting a problem is the first step to 
solving it.  Banks have not met many new problems this year but their 
existing woes have become more acute. Mortgage markets have deteriorated, 
not bounced back, so more assets have to be written off. Banks with ample 
customer deposits remain reluctant to lend to their weaker brethren and the 
securitisation markets remain closed. In anticipation of recession, 
meanwhile, markets now anticipate bad debts across banks’ lending books. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/financial-times-editoria
l-comment-bad.html

Chrysler shifts away from leases - Resale values tumble on returned pickups 
and SUVs By Rick Popely.  Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.  July 26, 2008.  
Chrysler customers accustomed to leasing vehicles should expect to get a 
stronger pitch to buy their next vehicle.  Chrysler LLC, burned by declining 
resale values on vehicles coming back from leases, particularly trucks, said 
Friday it would stop writing leases through its Chrysler Financial unit on 
Aug. 1.  Instead, Chrysler has boosted incentives for customers to buy 
vehicles, extending zero percent financing to more models.  "The advantages 
of leasing have really disappeared. The economic formula that made leasing 
attractive 15 to 20 years ago is not there now," Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim 
Press said.  
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/chrysler-shifts-away-fro
m-leases-resale.html

Toyota overtakes GM in global vehicle sales By Bernard Simon in Toronto.  
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 23 2008 17:57 | 
Last updated: July 23 2008 17:57.  Toyota pulled well ahead of General 
Motors in global vehicle sales in the first half of 2008, putting it on 
track to become the world’s undisputed number-one carmaker.  Toyota’s 
first-half sales, at 4.82m vehicles, were 2.2 per cent higher than a year 
earlier, while GM slipped by 3 per cent to 4.54m. Second quarter sales 
totalled 2.41m and 2.28m, respectively. The two companies were neck-and-neck 
in 2007.  Both have been hit by softening demand in the US, western Europe 
and Japan, which still make up more than half of global light-vehicle sales. 
The US market contracted by 13 per cent in June compared with a year 
earlier. Sales in Japan are at their lowest levels in a quarter of a 
century.  Toyota said last week it was reviewing its global sales target for 
2008. It is expected to lower its projection from 9.85m units to about 9.5m.  
But demand continues to grow at a sizzling pace in emerging markets, notably 
China, Russia and Brazil.  Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s sales analyst, predicted on 
Wednesday that in spite of the setbacks in the three industrialised markets 
the global car market would expand by 2.5 per cent this year to 72m units, 
the seventh annual record in a row. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/toyota-overtakes-gm-in-g
lobal-vehicle.html

Ford to shift direction after $8.7bn loss By Bernard Simon in Toronto.  
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 24 2008 12:52 | 
Last updated: July 24 2008 15:12.  Ford Motor has unveiled an ambitious 
facelift for its troubled north American operations aimed at shifting its 
focus from big pick-up trucks and sport-utility vehicles towards smaller, 
more fuel-efficient passenger cars.  Announcing a net second-quarter loss of 
$8.7bn, the number-two Detroit carmaker said on Thursday that it would bring 
six small European models to north America, and convert three existing truck 
and SUV assembly plants to small cars.  The conversions are in addition to 
plans announced earlier to cut SUV and pick-up production for the remainder 
of this year.  The carmaker also plans to accelerate the introduction of a 
new fuel-efficient V6 engine and to double four-cylinder engine capacity. It 
quashed speculation that it might eliminate the Mercury premium brand from 
its product line-up.  Alan Mulally, chief executive, said the moves were 
designed to respond “to the rapidly changing business environment”. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/ford-to-shift-direction-
after-87bn-loss.html

GE launches radical shake-up By Justin Baer, Francesco Guerrera and Joanna 
Chung in New York.  Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: 
July 26 2008 00:19 | Last updated: July 26 2008 00:34.  General Electric on 
Friday launched a radical restructuring of its sprawling business, in the 
latest attempt by Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive, to revive its flagging 
share price and regain the trust of disgruntled investors.  The move placed 
the infrastructure unit at the core of GE and further shifts the company’s 
centre of gravity away from its manufacturing roots.  The reorganisation 
plan, unveiled after the GE board’s approval, came as the group disclosed in 
a filing that its financial services arms had drawn scrutiny from securities 
and environment protection regulators.  GE’s four segments, Technology 
Infrastructure, Energy Infrastructure, GE Capital and NBC Universal, 
represent the sectors that Mr Immelt believes puts the company in the best 
position to accelerate profit growth and revive the group’s stock price. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/ge-launches-radical-shak
e-up.html



Commodities

A report says the U.S. could convert completely to hydrogen power by the 
year 2050, with an investment of $200 Billion. Unfortunately, the government 
has invested $1 Trillion just to secure the oil in Iraq. (Jim Barach)

Oh, the price of oil has dropped to under $125 a barrel for the first time 
in two months. And gasoline is down six cents a gallon. You know what this 
means. The White House will call for an emergency bailout to help the 
struggling oil companies. "We got to stop the bleeding!"  (Jay Leno)

Oil $123.26
Silver Bullion $17.40
Gold Bullion $929
Platinum Bullion $ $1765
Euro                $1.5683
Br. Pound       $1.9877

Curbs on US energy speculators halted by Republican Senators By Stephanie 
Kirchgaessner in Washington and Hal Weitzman in Chicago.  Copyright The 
Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 25 2008 23:13 | Last updated: 
July 25 2008 23:13.  A US Senate proposal designed to curb speculation and 
increase transparency in the energy markets was blocked by Republican 
legislators on Friday.  The move frustrates Democratic efforts to show the 
party is taking action on record petrol prices. The Stop Excessive 
Speculation Act, sponsored by Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, fell 
10 votes short of clearing a procedural hurdle.  The defeat strengthened the 
view that the Republicans are gaining traction in the public debate over how 
to address record oil prices – an issue that has taken centre stage in the 
presidential election campaign.  The vote marks a victory for the futures 
industry and Wall Street banks, such as Goldman Sachs, which lobbied heavily 
against Mr Reid’s proposal, and is a setback for the airline and trucking 
industries, which strongly supported it. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/curbs-on-us-energy-specu
lators-halted.html

Harvest the sun - from space.  By O. Glenn Smith. Copyright by The 
International Herald Tribune.  Published: July 23, 2008.  As America faces 
$4.50 a gallon gas, we also know that alternative energy sources - coal, oil 
shale, ethanol, wind and ground-based solar - are either of limited 
potential, very expensive, require huge energy storage systems or harm the 
environment. There is, however, one potential future energy source that is 
environmentally friendly, has essentially unlimited potential and can be 
cost competitive with any renewable source: space solar power.  Science 
fiction? Actually, no - the technology already exists. A space solar power 
system would involve building large solar energy collectors in orbit around 
the Earth. These panels would collect far more energy than land-based units, 
which are hampered by weather, low angles of the sun in northern climes and, 
of course, the darkness of night.  Once collected, the solar energy would be 
safely beamed to Earth via wireless radio transmission, where it would be 
received by antennas near cities and other places where large amounts of 
power are used. The received energy would then be converted to electric 
power for distribution over the existing grid. Government scientists have 
projected that the cost of electric power generation from such a system 
could be as low as 8 to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is within the 
range of what consumers pay now. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/harvest-sun-from-space.h
tml




Housing

Today's loan rates

RATE                                                                                  
LAST WEEK
30 yr fixed mtg                                                 6.39%        
6.33%
15 yr fixed mtg                                                 5.95%        
5.86%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg                                     7.56%        7.28%
5/1 ARM                                                            5.91%        
5.73%
7/1 ARM                                                            6.27%        
6.08%


US existing home sales tumble By James Politi in Washington.  Copyright The 
Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 24 2008 16:35 | Last updated: 
July 24 2008 16:35.  Sales of previously-owned homes in the US tumbled by 
2.6 per cent in June, which was much more than forecast by economists, 
spreading more gloom across the damaged US housing industry.  According to 
the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales dropped to an 
annual rate of 4.99m units in May to 4.86m units last month – the lowest in 
a decade and 15.5 per cent below where its level in June 2007.  Meanwhile, a 
measure of the inventory of unsold homes, which needs to be reduced for the 
housing market to recover, rose to an 11.1 month supply from a 10.8 month 
supply in May.  “There are few redeeming features in the numbers, with the 
economy showing little capacity to work down inventories that over time are 
being inflated by foreclosed homes,” said Alan Ruskin of RBS in Greenwich, 
Connecticut.  Goldman Sachs economists said the data pointed “towards 
continued home price declines”./Chicago home sales drop 28% in June By 
Margaret O'Brien.  Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.  9:18 AM CDT, July 24, 
2008.  Sales and median prices for existing homes in Chicago and the state 
dropped in June as the real estate market remained strained by low consumer 
confidence and a troubled economy.  In the nine-county Chicago market, total 
home sales dropped 27.9 percent to 7,656 units. The median home sale price 
for the Chicagoland area was $256,000 in June 2008, off 3.3 percent from 
$264,700 in June 2007.  In Cook County, median prices were off a slight 0.9 
percent in June at $274,500 compared to $277,000 in June 2007.  Illinois 
home sales, which include single-family homes and condominiums, were down 27 
from a year ago to 11,643 units, according to the Illinois Association of 
Realtors latest report.  The Illinois median price in June reached $200,000, 
down 6.1 percent from $213,000 in June 2007. The median is a typical market 
price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/chicago-home-sales-drop-
28-in-june.html

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Fannie and Freddie are feeling unwell.  
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 23 2008 19:55 | 
Last updated: July 23 2008 19:55.  Ten days ago Henry Paulson, the US 
Treasury secretary, responded to alarm over the prospects of Fannie Mae and 
Freddie Mac, the twin “government-sponsored” – but privately owned – giants 
of US housing finance. Mr Paulson asked for authority to lend them whatever 
it would take to keep them afloat, or to shore up their capital by buying 
their equity, or both.  This power is to be appended to a bigger housing 
market measure that Congress has been considering, with its usual urgency, 
for months, and whose arrival on the president’s desk is promised 
imminently. What US taxpayers may wish to know is how much the fiction that 
Fannie and Freddie would never be a charge on the public purse is, in the 
event, going to cost them.  The independent Congressional Budget Office, 
accustomed to being asked impossible questions, took a shot at this one this 
week. Its widely reported estimate of the likely cost of Mr Paulson’s 
request was $25bn, but note what this figure represents. It is an average 
that weights together the chance of no outlay at all (a better-than-even 
bet, the CBO says) with the smaller but still significant chance of spending 
far in excess of $25bn, and indeed possibly in excess of $100bn (a 5 per 
cent probability, the CBO guesses, rather optimistically). 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/financial-times-editoria
l-comment_24.html

US builders forced to sell off holdings By Daniel Pimlott in New York.  
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 18 2008 22:26 | 
Last updated: July 18 2008 22:26.  For decades American builders have, in 
the words of the Joni Mitchell song, “paved paradise and put up a parking 
lot”. Now, a combination of the housing slump, the energy crisis and soaring 
prices for food is helping to keep the bulldozers at bay.  Demand for new 
homes on the outskirts of US towns has fallen spectacularly in the last 
three years, while foreclosures and speculative building have created a far 
greater supply of homes than there are buyers. At the same time, soaring 
fuel costs have made the long commute to work that much less attractive.  
The result is that farmland close to cities that has often been the seedbed 
for new housing developments is becoming less valuable to builders, at the 
same time as farmers want more of it.  As residential opportunities drain 
away, builders are seeking ways to cut their losses. In areas on the outer 
edge of suburbs this can also mean looking to sell to farmers and farm 
investors. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/us-builders-forced-to-se
ll-off-holding.html






Bush Bashing

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is calling the Bush presidency a total 
failure. Total failure. I don't know, I think he's done okay. I think he's 
done okay if you don't count Iraq. The economy. The environment. 
Afghanistan. The mortgage crisis. The deficit. Gas prices. Hurricane 
Katrina. Illegal wire tapping. The national debt. Tainted food. Failure to 
catch bin Laden. CIA leaks. Other than that, I think it's been pretty good. 
(David Letterman)

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to President Bush's time in 
office as "a total failure." Yeah, Bush defended himself saying, "Oh, come 
on, I've hardly spent any time in my office." (Conan O'Brien)

The White House has rejected a plan to regulate greenhouse gases, saying it 
could cripple the U. S. economy. And if there is anything the Bush 
administration knows about, it's crippling the economy. (Jim Barach)

President Bush signed a bill giving phone companies immunity for letting the 
government spy on its customers without a warrant. Isn't that unbelievable? 
President Bush said 9/11 changed everything. And you know, he's right, 
because violating the Constitution and breaking the law used to mean jail 
time. (Jay Leno)

Is Iran Bush's answer for a legacy? By Raja Kamal.  Copyright © 2008, 
Chicago Tribune.  July 18, 2008.  History can be very harsh and subjective. 
It seems that the significant accomplishments of President Bill Clinton will 
be unfortunately overshadowed by his personal indiscretions while in office. 
Historians will never shy from emphasizing that he was the second U.S. 
president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Clinton's legacy, 
as a result, has been sadly tarnished.  How will historians judge the legacy 
of President George W. Bush? And, as he approaches the end of his second 
term, is it possible for him to influence or redefine his legacy?  The 
answer to the first question is not favorable. During his tenure, the Iraq 
war was poorly conceived and implemented. It is now a quagmire with no end 
in sight. With more than a half-trillion dollars and counting, this war is 
affecting essential programs here at home. Hurricane Katrina also proved 
that Washington was incapable of responding efficiently to natural disasters 
on the home front. And then there is the economy. Most economists would 
agree that the country is in a recession and possibly a severe one. More 
Americans are finding themselves jobless every week. The high cost of energy 
is compounding matters, and polls are giving the administration a very low 
performance rating—confirming that the nation is going in the wrong 
direction. What could overshadow the Iraq war, Katrina and bad economy to 
provide a new defining moment? The answer is Iran....Attacking Iran may 
camouflage the legacy of the Bush administration. Yet redefining the 
president's legacy by a conflict with Iran may prove to be an even more 
dangerous path than that of Iraq.  Will there be a dark day in November? 
Let's hope not. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/is-iran-bushs-answer-for
-legacy.html

International Herald Tribune Editorial: Wounded warriors, empty promises.  
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune.  Published: July 25, 2008.  
The bad news about the U.S. Army's treatment of wounded soldiers keeps 
coming. The generals keep apologizing and insisting that things are getting 
better, but they are not. The latest low moment for army brass came on 
Tuesday in Washington, where a subcommittee of the House Armed Services 
Committee held a hearing to examine the sorry state of the Army Medical 
Action Plan.  That's the plan to prevent the kind of systematic neglect and 
mistreatment exposed by The Washington Post last year at the Walter Reed 
Army Medical Center.  After a flurry of apologies, firings, investigations 
and reports, the army resolved to streamline and improve case management for 
wounded soldiers. Under the plan, "warrior transition units" would swiftly 
deliver excellent care to troops so they could return to duty or be 
discharged into the veterans' medical system. Each soldier would be assigned 
a team to look over his or her care: a physician, a nurse and a squad 
leader. It all sounded sensible and comprehensive. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_25.html

International Herald Tribune Editorial: The right to know.  Copyright by The 
International Herald Tribune.  Published: July 23, 2008.  In the face of 
near hysterical opposition from the Bush administration, the Senate 
Democratic leadership intends to take up a proposed shield law to provide 
journalists with limited protection against being compelled to reveal 
confidential sources in federal court. A similar measure won House approval 
last October in a bipartisan landslide. But the White House is playing the 
fear card, orchestrating a barrage of warnings that the law would "wreak 
havoc" on national security and "completely eviscerate" the ability to 
investigate terrorism.  The Senate must not be cowed. Only through robust 
reporting has the nation learned of President George W. Bush's illegal 
programs to eavesdrop on Americans and run torture prisons abroad.  The bill 
has ample protection for law enforcement and national security while making 
sure journalists are not hounded into jail for protecting sources who point 
to government law-breaking. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_23.html



GLBT

Hearing examines 'don't ask, don't tell' policy - Discussion intended to 
look at effect of gays-in-military rule By Amanda Erickson.  Copyright © 
2008, Chicago Tribune.  July 24, 2008.  WASHINGTON — Whether gay men and 
women should be allowed to serve openly in the armed forces was considered 
by a House subcommittee Wednesday for the first time in 15 years.  Congress 
had not re-examined the "don't ask, don't tell" policy since it was approved 
by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993. Recruiters are not allowed to ask 
enlistees about their sexual orientation and members of the armed forces may 
not engage in homosexual conduct or aggressively display homosexuality.  
John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, supports 
retention of the policy while likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama backs 
its repeal. Legislation has been introduced to repeal the policy, but 
Wednesday's hearing was not intended to advance the bill.  At the 2 1/2 
-hour hearing, lawmakers focused on two questions: what effect a change in 
the policy would have on troop unity and whether the current policy is 
hurting recruitment and retention of service members who are gay. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/hearing-examines-dont-as
k-dont-tell.html

Poll shows California support for marriage rights By Amanda Fehd.  Copyright 
by The Associated Press.  July 23, 2008.  SAN FRANCISCO—More California 
voters say they would oppose a November ballot initiative to ban same-sex 
marriage in the state’s constitution than would support it, according to a 
survey released July 18.  The Field Poll found that 51 percent of likely 
voters say they would vote against Proposition 8, while 42 percent say they 
would vote for it.  The poll shows a turnaround from 2000, when 61 percent 
of voters cast ballots in favor Proposition 22, which strengthened the 
California’s’s 1978 one-man, one-woman marriage law with the words “Only 
marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”  
That vote came a year after the California Legislature enacted the first of 
a series of laws awarding spousal rights to domestic partners.  This year’s 
ballot initiative comes on the heels of a landmark California Supreme Court 
decision in May that granted marriage rights to same-sex couples.  Hundreds 
of gay and lesbian couples have flooded county clerk’s offices throughout 
the state to receive marriage licenses since the ruling took effect in June. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/poll-shows-california-su
pport-for.html

Orgullo en Accion LGBTQQ Pride Picnic By Nilsa Irizarry.  Copyright by 
Orgullo en Accion.  July 20, 2008.  On July 19, 2008, as the raindrops 
glazed our faces and music lingered in the windy background, Orgullo en 
Accion’s Latina/o LGBTQQ Pride Picnic commenced in Humboldt Park and we 
celebrated diversity, culture, intergenerational unity, families, community 
and much more.  I honor the commitment of all, who embraced the rain with 
us, and participated in the amazing performances and activities, as Mother 
Nature rested and granted us the beauty of sunlight.  I give deep gratitude 
for all OEA board members; who worked beyond the call of duty to make this 
event a reality, all the electrifying volunteers, and to a special host who 
provided a safe space to gather in the evening and continue the celebration, 
we thank you. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/orgullo-en-accion-lgbtqq
-pride-picnic.html

Young, Gay and Murdered.  URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/147790.  Kids are 
coming out younger, but are schools ready to handle the complex issues of 
identity and sexuality? For Larry King, the question had tragic 
implications. By Ramin Setoodeh.  Copyright © 2008 by NEWSWEEK.  Updated: 
1:56 PM ET Jul 19, 2008.  At 15, Lawrence King was small—5 feet 1 inch—but 
very hard to miss. In January, he started to show up for class at Oxnard, 
Calif.'s E. O. Green Junior High School decked out in women's accessories. 
On some days, he would slick up his curly hair in a Prince-like bouffant. 
Sometimes he'd paint his fingernails hot pink and dab glitter or white 
foundation on his cheeks. "He wore makeup better than I did," says Marissa 
Moreno, 13, one of his classmates. He bought a pair of stilettos at Target, 
and he couldn't have been prouder if he had on a varsity football jersey. He 
thought nothing of chasing the boys around the school in them, teetering as 
he ran.  But on the morning of Feb. 12, Larry left his glitter and his heels 
at home. He came to school dressed like any other boy: tennis shoes, baggy 
pants, a loose sweater over a collared shirt. He seemed unhappy about 
something. He hadn't slept much the night before, and he told one school 
employee that he threw up his breakfast that morning, which he sometimes did 
because he obsessed over his weight. But this was different. One student 
noticed that as Larry walked across the quad, he kept looking back nervously 
over his shoulder before he slipped into his first-period English class. The 
teacher, Dawn Boldrin, told the students to collect their belongings, and 
then marched them to a nearby computer lab, so they could type out their 
papers on World War II. Larry found a seat in the middle of the room. Behind 
him, Brandon McInerney pulled up a chair. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/young-gay-and-murdered.h
tml

Moving In Together – A Legal Checklist By Roger McCaffrey-Boss.  Copyright 
by Gay Chicago Magazine and Roger McCaffrey-Boss.  July 22, 2008.  Q: My 
partner and I are planning on buying a house together and combining our 
finances. We are not ready to fly to California and tie the knot. We may 
never marry, but we want to leave that option open. What kinds of things 
should we be thinking about to protect our relationship?  A: Agreements do 
not have to be drafted and executed every time two people decide to live 
together or to help each other financially. But when decisions are made 
which involve long periods of time and serious financial commitments, you 
should document your intentions.  Partnership/Living Together Agreements. 
LGBT couples should reach an agreement that covers the economic aspects of 
the couple’s life. Their assets, their present and future earnings, 
children, inheritances, expectations and hopes of each member regarding 
their own and each other’s property. Such an agreement should specifically 
state who owns what individually, what is owned collectively, and whether 
joint property is owned by all parties in equal shares or in shares 
proportional to their economic contributions. Who pays what proportion of 
the common expenses - housing, food, laundry, phone and electric, etc. And 
what happens to the house in case of a split. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/moving-in-together-legal
-checklist.html



Immigration

According to a recent study, a great number of Mexicans are returning to 
their country because of the economic recession in the U. S. Maybe this was 
Bush's plan all along against illegal immigration - just run the economy 
down and wait for them to leave? (Pedro Bartes)

Being bilingual offers all sorts of advantages  By TERESA PUENTE 
tpuente at suntimes.com.  Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times.  July 21, 2008.  
Bilingual isn't a bad word. But some people are complaining because Barack 
Obama recently called for more bilingualism in the United States.  "Instead 
of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English -- they'll learn 
English -- you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish," Obama said. 
"You should be thinking about, how can your child become bilingual? We 
should have every child speaking more than one language."  I couldn't agree 
more.   Being bilingual gives you all kinds of advantages. As a reporter, I 
got plenty of scoops because I could interview people in Spanish and other 
reporters couldn't.   It opens you up to different cultures and reading in 
another language. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/being-bilingual-offers-a
ll-sorts-of.html




Health Care

Viagra may revive women on depression drugs - Popular men's pill may ease 
sexual side effects, small study shows.  Copyright 2008 The Associated 
Press.  6:38 p.m. CT, Tues., July. 22, 2008.  CHICAGO - Viagra's effect in 
women has been disappointing, but a new small study finds those on 
antidepressants may benefit from taking the little blue pills.  The research 
involving 98 premenopausal women found Viagra helped with orgasm. But the 
benefits did not extend to other aspects of sex such as desire, researchers 
report in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.  "For 
women on antidepressants with orgasm problems, this may provide some 
wonderful relief," said psychologist Stanley Althof, director of the Center 
for Marital and Sexual Health of South Florida in West Palm Beach, who was 
not involved in the study. "But it will not improve their desire or 
arousal."  Antidepressants can interfere with sex drive and performance even 
as the drugs help lift crippling depression. Switching drugs or reducing the 
dose can help. But many people, men and women, stop taking them because of 
their sexual side effects. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/viagra-may-revive-women-
on-depression.html

McCain's take on birth Viagra By Katha Pollitt.  Copyright © 2008 The 
Nation.  I realize it's not as world-shaking as the caricature of the Obamas 
on the cover of The New Yorker, which has the high-end media in a total 
tizzy. It's probably not even as important as the raunchy joke Bernie Mac 
told at an Obama fundraiser last week, which was bumped from the tizzy list 
by the New Yorker story.   But can't the commentariat take a break from 
itself and let the world know how much John McCain opposes birth control? 
Vastly more people rely on contraception than read The New Yorker or know 
who Bernie Mac is from mac 'n' cheese.   In fact, vastly more people use 
birth control than believe Obama is a secret Muslim. They might like to know 
that when it comes to contraception, McCain is no maverick.   Here's the 
story. Last week, Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard who has 
been helping McCain look bright-eyed and estrogen-friendly, told reporters 
that women wanted more choice in their health-care plans. For example, it 
bothered women when plans covered Viagra but not contraception.   Big 
mistake! McCain had voted against a bill that would have required plans to 
cover birth control if they covered prescription meds at all, like, um, 
Viagra. McCain's non-response when queried about this by a reporter was 
astonishing. As you can still see on YouTube, he squirms and grins and 
smirks (Viagra! embarrassing!) and fumfers about evasively. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/mccains-take-on-birth-co
ntrol.html
And the Viagra moment: http://www.wikio.com/video/314833

Statins May Spur Dementia By: Sylvia Booth Hubbard © 2008 Newsmax. All 
rights reserved.  Friday, July 25, 2008 9:21 AM.  Statin drugs, which are 
used to lower cholesterol, may adversely affect a particular group of brain 
cells important to the health of aging brains, according to researchers at 
the University of Rochester Medical Center. “There has been a great deal of 
discussion about a link between statins and dementia, but evidence either 
way has been scant,” said Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., the research team 
leader. “This new data provides a basis for further exploration.”  The team 
looked specifically at the effect of statins on “glial progenitor cells.” 
These are flexible brain cells held in reserve which the brain can change 
and customize according to whatever type of cell it needs to stay healthy. 
The researchers found that statin drugs spur the glial progenitor cells, 
which are similar to stem cells, to become a particular kind of cell and to 
lose their crucial ability to change. In other words, statins cause the 
cells to take a final form of some kind which the brain can no longer modify 
or transform.  In their study of glial progenitor cells, the scientists ran 
a test to see which genes are more active in these cells compared to other 
brain cells. They found out that several were related to cholesterol, in 
particular to an enzyme which is highly involved in the production of 
cholesterol and is the primary target of statin drugs. “It was quite 
surprising that the cholesterol-signaling pathways are so active in these 
cells,” Goldman said. “Since such signaling is blocked with compounds used 
literally by millions of patients every day, we decided to take a closer 
look.”  
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/statins-may-spur-dementi
a.html

In inner city, risk is reality of sex By Johnathon E. Briggs.  Copyright © 
2008, Chicago Tribune.  July 20, 2008.  I've got news for fans of "Sex and 
the City": If that TV show, now a hit movie, were about black women, HIV 
might have been diagnosed in one of them.  That's right. If the show had 
been "Sex in the Inner City" chronicling the sexually liberated adventures 
of four black women—let's call them Wanda, Jalissa, Tracy and Kim—one of the 
lead characters could credibly have tested positive for the virus that 
causes AIDS.  You see, condom use rarely was discussed or shown on the 
risque HBO series. And given that federal health data show that black women 
are nearly 23 times more likely to get a diagnosis of AIDS than white women, 
an HIV story line in "Sex in the Inner City" would have been most 
believable.  For decades, the public service message on HIV infection has 
been, "It's not who you are, it's what you do."  
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/in-inner-city-risk-is-re
ality-of-sex.html



Technology

Unlike McCain, many seniors depend on the Web  By JOCELYN NOVECK.  Copyright 
by The Associated Press.  Sunday, July 20, 2008; 10:43 PM.  NEW YORK -- If 
Sen. John McCain is really serious about becoming a Web-savvy citizen, 
perhaps Kathryn Robinson can help.   Robinson is now 106 _ that's 35 years 
older than McCain _ and she began using the Internet at 98, at the Barclay 
Friends home in West Chester, Pa., where she lives. "I started to learn 
because I wanted to e-mail my family," she says _ in an e-mail message, 
naturally.   Blogs have been buzzing recently over McCain's admission that 
when it comes to the Internet, "I'm an illiterate who has to rely on his 
wife for any assistance he can get." And the 71-year-old presumptive 
Republican nominee, asked about his Web use last week by the New York Times, 
said that aides "go on for me. I will have that down fairly soon, getting on 
myself."   How unusual is it for a 71-year-old American to be unplugged?   
That depends how you look at the statistics. Only 35 percent of Americans 
over age 65 are online, according to data from April and May compiled by the 
Pew Internet Project at the Pew Research Center.  
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/unlike-mccain-many-senio
rs-depend-on.html

Other

Dark Knight’ sets record with $155m weekend By Matthew Garrahan in Los 
Angeles.  Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.  Published: July 20 
2008 23:03 | Last updated: July 20 2008 23:03.  The latest instalment in the 
revived Batman franchise scored Warner Brothers the best weekend opening by 
a film, giving the studio a significant boost and generating $155.3m 
(£77.7m, €97.98m) in its first two days of release in the US.  The Dark 
Knight broke the previous record of $151m, which was set last summer by 
Sony’s Spider-Man 3 and dominated the weekend, outperforming Universal’s 
Mamma Mia, which generated $27.6m.  “We knew it would be big, but we never 
expected to dominate the marketplace like we did,” said Dan Fellman, head of 
distribution for Warner Bros. The studio expects the film to have generated 
more than $200m in box office receipts by the end of the week.  The film, 
which brought in an additional $40m from 20 international territories, had 
been expected to make about $100m in its first weekend. 
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/dark-knight-sets-record-
with-155m.html




Humor

Insurance company rules? http://www.TrueMajority.org/HealthCareRules

The Barometer  
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/07/barometer.html




New! Carlos now has an online store. Order your books directly from Carlos 
and have them signed and dedicated. http://www.carlostmock.com/catalog/



In Pride (orgullo),


Carlos T. Mock, MD
Www.carlostmock.com
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT
Round Table.
Author: The Mosaic Virus – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a Stonewall 
Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie 
from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Author: Papi Chulo – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a 
Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a 
Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation


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