February 26, 2004

According to BBC Online, the Pentagon plans to hold some Guantanamo detainees, even if they've been cleared by a military tribunal. "They say detainees could be kept prisoner if they are considered a security risk. If found guilty, they could also be held beyond any sentence laid down by the tribunal." A lawyer appointed to defend one of the first detainees to go on trial is quoted in the article: "'The tribunals don't have the safeguards that one would expect,' he told the BBC's World Today programme. 'This is unlike any system we have seen since at least World War II - except perhaps similar military commissions in other countries that we frequently criticise as fundamentally unfair,' he said." No wonder the UN kicked the US off it's human rights commission--we're starting to look like China or the old Soviet Union more and more every day!

In other news, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is advocating cuts in Social Security to fight the deficit. Yeah, THAT will go over well! With the Baby Boomers approaching retirement, it would be career suicide for any politician who supported it. On second thought, perhaps Bush should adopt that as part of his campaign platform...

Want $10,000? It's yours--if you can substantiate Bush's claims about his National Guard service in Alabama. Doonsbury Comic Strip is offering $10,000 to anyone who can do just that. I'm not holding my breath.

A Queensland University study indicates that Australia's Great Barrier Reef could be devastated by 2050 as a result of rising oceanic temperatures. Which means a sizable chunk of Australia's economy could also go down the toilet, thanks to the loss of tourism and fishing dollars. Further evidence that we're ruining the planet with our irresponsible energy policies, and just one MORE reason to vote against George Bush, aka, Captain Anti-Planet! By pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, and suppressing scientific evidence of global warming (among other things), he's shown he cares more about corporate fat-cats than the environmental AND economic future of the planet.

Quote for the Day: "Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."--Albert Einstein

Idiotic Quote for the Day: "My answer is bring them on."--George W. Bush, on Iraqi militants attacking U.S. forces, July 3, 2003. (SO nice to see you're concerned for the safety of our troops, George!)

February 23, 2004

*Sigh* Here we go again...

"Ralph Nader's ego today announced it will be running for president in 2004.

With no party affiliation, no constituency (after breaking its promise not to campaign in close states in 2000), and no reason to run outside of a grotesque case of self-importance, Nader's ego said 'It's all about me. I demand to be included in all presidential debates, in order to satisfy my need to be in front of television cameras.'"--Blah3.com.

Incidentally, Alternet has two articles about Nader this week. In The Lone Ranger of Righteousness, Paul Loeb discusses how Nader's "It's my right to run" attitude "marks a fundamental shift from an ethic of responsibility to one of damn the consequences, no matter how much populist precedent he tries to dress it up with." A Risk-Free 'Nader' in 2004 points out that Dennis Kucinich embodies the same ideals as Nader once did (and still *claims* to), as their platforms are nearly identical. Stephen Dinan observes than in Kucinich, "We thus have a perfect torchbearer for the progressive vision to carry forth the changes we seek and get them installed as much as possible in the Democratic platform, without endangering the fight against Bush."

Nader has also managed to top Democratic Underground's Top Ten Conservative Idiots list, coming in at number one AND number two. Quite an accomplishment for a so-called Progressive! Also making the list, George W. Bush (well, duh!), Gary Barnett, and Mel Gibson's dad.

In other news, according to this article on the Guardian, the Pentagon believes global warming could have a significant impact on global stability in the near future (within the next 20 years). The Pentagon study cited by the article has been suppressed by the White House, which may not be able to ignore it much longer, and could become a major factor in this year's election. Stay tuned!

Quote for the Day: "It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."--Bertrand Russell

Idiotic Quote for the Day: "Well, first of all, you're beginning with an illogical premise and proceeding perfectly logically to an illogical conclusion, which is a dangerous thing to do."--Donald Rumsfeld

February 19, 2004

And the list of Dubya's detractors keeps growing and growing...in a statement signed by 12 Nobel Prize winners, the Union of Concerned Scientists has charged that the White House has suppressed and distorted scientific results that it disagrees with. In case you weren't paying attention, that's suppressed and distorted...results it disagreed with. Gee--that doesn't sound familiar at all!

Aaaawwww...poor wittle Scotty McClellan is getting picked on by the White House Pwess Corps! Who do those mean reporters think they are, expecting him to give straight answers to those tough questions??? Here's a little tip Scotty--if ya can't swim with the sharks, stay outta the water!

Quote for the Day: "The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."--George Washington, Treaty of Tripoli, 1796 (Take THAT John Ashcroft!)

Idiotic Quote for the Day: "Anorexics never have boyfriends. ... That's one way to know you don't have anorexia, if you have a boyfriend."--Ann Coulter (Uh-huh...apparently Anorexic Annie is trying to compete with Condi Rice for the title, "Queen of Denial"!)

February 17, 2004

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is being sued by a federal prosecuter from Detroit for interfering with a terrorism case. Allegations against the Justice Dept. include divulging the name of a confidential informant. First an undercover CIA operative, now a confidential terrorism informant...this Administration is proving to be leakier than the Titanic following the iceberg collision!

This Alternet article features quotes from some of our greatest Presidents, along with quotes from Dubya and his daddy, on such topics as human rights, corruption, war, peace, and politics. The differences between the Bush Boys and the other Presidents quoted are striking. Even Ronald Reagan, of whom I'm NOT a fan, sounds compassionate and intelligent in contrast, and THAT is scary!

Thinking of opening a new credit card account? Consider Republicard! Republicard--Spend like there's no tomorrow!

If you enjoyed the Dishonest Dubya action figure mentioned in my last post, you may also want to get the new Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft action figures! Now you, too, can build and control your own White House Administration--just like Karl Rove!

Quotes for the Day: "The White House released documents it claims validates the president's (National Guard) service ... When deciphered the documents showed that in a one-year period, 1972 and 1973, Bush received credit for nine days of active National Guard service. The traditional term of service then and now for the National Guard is one weekend a month and two full weeks a year, meaning that Bush's nine-day stint qualifies him only for the National Guard's National Guard. That's the National Guard's National Guard, an Army of None."--Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

"All men by nature desire knowledge."--Aristotle

Well, maybe not all men...

Idiotic Quotes for the Day: "I glance at the headlines just to kind of get a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves."--George W. Bush

"As people do better, they start voting like Republicans - unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing"--Karl Rove, Sr. Advisor to President Bush (Ah yes, the peasants do get SO uppity when they get "too much" education and realize they're being screwed!)

February 12, 2004

Links, links, links, links...
I've found some great websites within the last couple of days which I think are well worth checking out. Citizen W Goes Home is a friend of a friend's website which has some great stuff, including an MP3 of the original song "W Goes Home" (just click the "Listen!" icon near the top of the page). There's also a copy of the lyrics posted, so you can sing along.

Peter Werbe, who hosts a fantastic radio show in Detroit on WRIF, has an extensive website with tons of links to articles and other resources. If you don't live in the Detroit area, you can listen to his show online as well.

If you like to do your Christmas shopping 10 months early, you might want to get the Dishonest Dubya talking action figure from FraudCo, with four different outfits, fourteen different Dubya quotes, and pretzel-wretching action! Comes with remote control, so you can freak out your friends from the next room!

Progressive Lord of the Rings fans will enjoy this Lord of the Right Wing short animation, which depicts Dubya as Gollum, corrupted by the Right Wing, coveting the power of the West Wing (my Preciousssssss...).

Other sites worth perusing are Democratic Underground, Democracy Now, Danziger Cartoons (GREAT political cartoons!), and Working for Change.

Quote for the Day: "Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so."--Bertrand Russell

Idiotic Quote for the Day: "I want to remind you all that in order to fight and win the war, it requires an expenditure of money that is commiserate with keeping a promise to our troops to make sure that they're well-paid, well-trained, well-equipped."--George W. Bush (Commiserate??? That's COMMENSURATE you dumbass! "Commiserate" is what the people you've screwed over do when they get together with the people you've pissed off!)

February 11, 2004

Just a short post for today. The Miserable failure google-bomb has been thwarted by neo-cons linking the words miserable failure to Michael Moore's website. Just want to let my fellow 'bloggers know, in case you'd like to help rectify the situation by linking miserable failure back to George W's site from yours (he's second in the search results right now, so it could be done). Also, there is a new google-bomb going on featuring the word unelectable.

Quote for the Day: "A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconciously translates what he hears into something he can understand."--Bertrand Russell

Which brings us to...

Idiotic Quote for the Day: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."--George W. Bush (the unelectable miserable failure)

February 10, 2004

The following article was forwarded to me by a friend. It illustrates just how dire the U.S. economic situation *really* is. Enlightening, to put it mildly. Warning: it's kinda long.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6. STRUGGLING FOR WORDS

The Boca Raton Resort & Club, where G7 finance ministers are meeting, is just a short drive from my home in Palm Beach Gardens — south on I-95 and then east toward the ocean on Camino Real.

Nearby, golfers leisurely tee off at the par-72 Country Club Course and windsurfers comfortably negotiate gusts and lulls offshore. Little do they realize that, inside, a drama is unfolding of potentially earth-shattering dimensions.

The finance ministers have a serious quandary. Within less than a day, they must come up with a statement that is both STRONG enough to combat a plunging dollar and, at the same time, WEAK enough to gain the unanimous support of all seven of the nations represented: The United States. Japan. Germany. France. Britain. Canada. Italy.

That’s tougher than hitting a hole-in-one with a chopstick; almost as hard as tacking into a tsunami.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles to the north and east, in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Tokyo, the dollar has been falling into a bottomless pit, pounded by wave after wave of selling, driven lower by the most powerful combination of fundamental forces ever amassed in one time and place ...

- The lowest U.S. money market rates in 45 years, making the dollar extremely unattractive to foreign investors ...

- The largest U.S. budget deficit of all time (in dollar terms) — over a half trillion dollars ...

- The largest U.S. trade deficit of all time (in both dollar AND percentage terms) — ANOTHER half trillion dollars and ...

- The greatest exodus of jobs from America of all time— to low-wage countries like China, India, and even Bangladesh.

But in the resort’s signature 1926 building, the G-7 ministers huddle over a table for hours, desperately trying to come up with something meaningful to say to the world.

They know, in their gut, that even the most hyperbolic statement that the English lexicon could possibly deliver would not be nearly enough to combat the powerhouse of financial forces now lined up against them.

Paradoxically, they also know that even a moderately strong statement will be politically infeasible. The fundamental gaps between the ministers are just too wide and too deep:

THE AMERICANS, led by Treasury Secretary John Snow, want the dollar to continue FALLING — so they can save some of the jobs fleeing en masse to low-wage countries, not to mention their boss’s own job come November.

THE GERMANS AND THE FRENCH want the dollar to turn around and start RISING — so they can save their slumping economies. Ditto for the British and Canadians.

THE JAPANESE are in their own camp. They want to do everything in their power to keep the yen as cheap as possible DESPITE the cheaper dollar. Last year they dumped yen onto the market at the rate of nearly one billion dollars’ worth per trading DAY. This year, they want to CONTINUE dumping yen onto the market. They know that as soon as they STOP dumping more, the yen will go through the roof and the dollar will fall through the floor.

Clearly, everyone around the table has a totally different agenda — Americans seeking a dollar decline, Europeans wanting a dollar RISE, and the Japanese pushing for a decline in their own currency that’s only modestly less severe than the dollar’s.

The ministers talk until they’re blue in the face. They smile and nod politely. And all the while, in their mind’s eye, their heads shake in frustration. They struggle to come up with the right balance of words.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7. THE “STATEMENT”

The sun is bright but the surf is rougher today. The seven ministers line up proudly in a neat row before the press. They have finally come up with a statement all can agree with. Each phrase has been carefully crafted; each word, painstakingly chosen. Ten words in particular have been drafted with special TLC:

excess
volatility
and
disorderly
movements
in
exchange
rates
are
undesirable

The ministers stand smiling before the cameras, six of them praying silently: Let these magic words stop the dollar decline. Let the foreign exchange speculators of the world rest in tranquility.

Never mind that in the pre-meeting chatter around the world, those speculators were clamoring for a far stronger statement!

Never mind that another set of words in the very same statement — pleading for “flexibility” in exchange rates — directly contradicts the notion of a strong dollar, especially against the Japanese yen!

Nevermind the forces now upon us — the worst American deficits in history and the lowest U.S. interest rates in nearly a half century!

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8. “TALKING IT UP”

Only a few hours have passed since the statement’s release. Even in East Asia, markets are still closed. But officials in Europe are hopeful that the G-7 statement will somehow turn the tide.

They describe their Boca Raton achievement as “historic.” Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet says, “it's a very good communiqué.”

Deutsche Welle, Germany’s leading world news organization, hails it as “the strongest move yet to stop the plummeting dollar.” The BBC proclaims that the “U.S. has accepted” the goal that “the dollar should not get much weaker against the yen and the euro.” Analysts and traders everywhere anticipate at least a one- or two-week rally in the dollar before it resumes its decline.

SUNDAY NIGHT. DISAPPOINTMENT

It’s bedtime for me in Florida, but 10am in Tokyo. The foreign exchange market is going crazy. The dollar opens stronger. But then it hangs dead in mid-air and starts falling right back down again.

Against the euro, after being up a cent to $1.2600, the dollar plunges anew, to a two-week low of $1.2760 per euro. The dollar also falls to a two-week low against the Australian dollar, a four-week low against the British pound, and a new four-YEAR low against the Singapore dollar.

What’s happening? Ask some of the G-7 ministers watching from afar. Didn’t they believe our great statement? Didn’t our 10 magic words convince them we mean business (even if we really don’t)?

TODAY, FEBRUARY 9.

The answer is on Yahoo! News this morning, for all to see:

“Saturday's statement from the two-day G7 meeting boosted the dollar as trade began in Asia. But the gains quickly evaporated as traders focused on the economic fundamentals behind the currency's two-year slide and skepticism that the group would coordinate action to reverse the trend.

“Dealers interpreted the G7 statement — issued after a meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Florida — as acknowledging European concerns about the euro's rapid rise. But they doubted the statement would be followed up with intervention in the market to support the dollar.”

WHAT NEXT?

I’m back at my home office. The Nikkei average just fell to 10,402 this morning, its lowest close since Christmas Day.

But here in the U.S., the stock market ended strong last week. Investors on Wall Street said they were happy that Friday’s employment release wasn’t as weak as last month’s dreadful report. Plus, they said they were ALSO happy that it wasn’t nearly as STRONG as it would take to make them worry sick about a quick rate hike by the Fed. Pollyanna would be proud.

Obviously, Wall Street has no inkling of what the sinking dollar can do to them. They have no idea of what it will feel like when the dollar selling gains momentum, when foreign investors panic.

Nor do they see what will happen when just a few of them start dumping a portion — even a very small portion — of the $4.6 trillion in U.S. government bonds, U.S. corporate bonds, and U.S. common equities they’re currently holding.

Average Americans don’t see it coming either. They don’t connect the dots between the dollar’s decline overseas and a declining purchasing power of the dollar at home ... between the threat to the dollar and the threat to the entire economy ... between the dire threat to the economy and an equally dire threat to the fabric of society.

When my Dad was alive, he did connect the dots.

About 45 years ago, when the federal deficit seemed to be going haywire, he founded the Sound Dollar Committee, which was instrumental in bringing about a balanced budget in the last year of the Eisenhower Administration — the last REAL balanced budget we’ve had ever since.

And about two decades ago, when the deficit was going haywire under Reagan, Dad tried to do it again.

Like the G-7 this weekend, his Sound Dollar Committee also held a top-level meeting at a beach resort in South Florida, only a few miles up the road from the Boca Raton Resort & Club. And like the G-7 ministers, they also issued a joint statement.

But unlike the wimpy, contradictory words of the G-7, theirs were clear: Balance the budget! Keep the dollar FUNDAMENTALLY strong. End the rhetoric! Quit the nonsense!

Looking back, I wish I had helped him more. He wanted so badly for me to attend his meetings, work beside him with the industry leaders that he invited, and stick with it for the full three days. Unfortunately, I only had time for three hours. But it wouldn’t have changed the end result: Their statement fell on deaf ears.

Now, though, we are in a different world.

When Dad held his last Sound Dollar Committee meeting in the early 1980s, the U.S. budget deficit was averaging around 5% of GDP. This time, it could hit 10% of GDP.

The U.S. trade deficit is now MANY times worse, and the dollar is fundamentally MUCH weaker.

Even optimistic economists agree that it will be almost impossible for the U.S. to grow its way out of its problems as it did in the 1980s.

And this time, I will not let Dad down.

Looking back, anyone can see how right he was. His fears about a falling dollar — and his zeal to rectify the wrongs — were prescient, to say the least.

There was one thing he was wrong about: Before he died, as he urged me to bring back the Sound Dollar Committee, he said that there was just ONE old cardboard box in our company’s warehouse, marked “Irving,” and that it contained all the documents and memoirs of the Sound Dollar Committee. But on Friday, I discovered that there are actually TWENTY-THREE boxes marked “Irving.”

They’re all being delivered to our office today. As I rummage through them, I’ll keep you posted as to what I find. I’ll also keep you up to date on any significant steps I may take along the way.

Good luck and God bless!

Martin
Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.
Editor, Safe Money Report
Chairman, Weiss Ratings, Inc.

Quote for the Day: "There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action."--Bertrand Russell

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