TRICK OR TREAT?

The Supreme Court Blocks an Execution by Lethal Injection in Mississippi

The Supreme Court halted an execution in Mississippi Tuesday, less than an hour before a convicted killer was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection. The last-minute reprieve for Earl Wesley Berry is the thir granted by the justices since they agreed late last month to decide a challenge to Kentucky’s lethal injection procedures.

FED EXPECTED TO CUT INTEREST RATES IN “PREMPTIVE STRIKE”
WHY ARE SO FEW MARCHING AGAINST THE WAR?
THE RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF THE RED SOX

Trick or Treat?

I have been watching the Democrats debate. In an hour, I heard no mention of debt, the credit crunch, the market meltdown, the suprime crime wave, The Wall Street rip-offs, the mass foreclosures, the student loans, the credit card interest hikes, the enviromental crisis, the destruction of Iraq, the superbugs that menace us etc, etc….Why is that? Doesn’t the party of the people care about the people? How is it that the growing inequality in the country, the outsourcing of jobs, the concerns of minorities–blacks and hispanics–barely rated a mention? Knock Knock. Hello. Are you all paying attention? Or do we have to hear the same issues recycled again and again?

Could this have anything to do with it–money to candidates from lenders?

David Sirota’s blog carries this item:

“Donations plentiful to candidates in midst of possible predatory lending regulation…Payday lenders have given nearly $64,000 to the 2008 candidates for president, with a vast majority of that going to Democrats, many of whom have accused the industry of unfair lending practices…Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson each has received more than $22,000 from payday lending sources, more than any other candidates during the campaign.”

THE FED TO ACT ON HALLOWEEN

It’s Halloween Wednesday and the Federal Reserve Bank is expected to cut interest rates, not to solve the credit crunch, because by now, Ben Bernanke and the boys seem to realize that they they can’t fix the problem that is undermining the global economy. But they can pretend to fix it with another interst rate cut and at the same time try to energize the markets. Reported the NY Times: the Fed wants to stage a “preemtive strike” (Sound familiar?) against the perception that things are going from bad to worse, and that it is not doing squat about it. They say the economy is strong but what the hell…..

The Fed remains concerned about inflation but is likely to lower the target federal funds rate by a quarter-point due to overriding credit worries, said Scott Wren, equity strategist for A.G. Edwards & Sons.
‘
‘It’s kind of a psychological sort of move,'’ Wren said. ‘’A 25 basis-point cut isn’t going to ease the credit crunch. But it’ll give the Fed a little more time to figure out what’s going on with the economy.'’

Come again? They are “buying time” even as income inequality deepens and fixed costs for most Americans continue to rise for mortgages, food, heating fuel and gas—oil hit $93 a barrel—but the Fed doesn’t seem to care about that. The Housing index went down again, even in Boston, where it had been supposedly going up and despite the Sox victory Not a good sign.

They are interested in psychology—ie. BS and PR—not helping ordinary people cope with the squeeze so many of us are feeling. They are helping the greedy and ignoring the needy. Again!

So to the question of the day—trick or treat?—I would have to say in all caps: TRICK.

“SOONER OR LATER: WHAT GOES UP WILL COME DOWN!

REUTERS: “A likely 25 basis point U.S. rate cut this week should give credit markets a boost, strategists say, but sooner or later both debt and equity will have to price in the reality of a gloomy economic outlook.”

Stanley O’ Neil, The Chairman of Merrill Lynch forced to quit after firm suffers 8 BILLION dollar plus loss. He is allowed to keep $161.8 million dollar retirement package. (Stan was a big Bush Financial backer.)

PLANNING FOR WAR ON IRAN GOES ON

Secret move to upgrade air base for Iran attack plans

The US is secretly upgrading special stealth bomber hangars on the British island protectorate of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to military sources.

The improvement of the B1 Spirit jet infrastructure coincides with an “urgent operational need” request for £44m to fit racks to the long-range aircraft.

That would allow them to carry experimental 15-ton Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs

REVEALED: COST OF “INTELLIGENCE:” $43 BILLION and Change

DID PETRAEUS BETRAY US AFTER ALL?

REGULATORS WANTS LESS REGULATION

The NY Times yesterday reported that the head of the Consumer Product Safeft Commisoner does NOT want more money from Congress to expand its work and regulatory regume. As a result, the Dems in Congress want her gone,clike now. Reports the Cmpaign for America’s Future:

Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Rosa DeLauro called for the resignation of CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord today, referencing a new report released by the Campaign for America’s Future that shows more and more American consumers are at risk from imported products.

Product safety problems took a new turn today with the discovery of lead-tainted Halloween toys that millions of children may end up using this week. These product recalls aren’t an accident or an oversight. Republican leaders have handcuffed the cop on the corporate beat. They’ve campaigned against regulations for decades. They’ve cut regulatory budgets and staff, curbed their powers and stocked them full of representatives from the industries they are supposed to regulate.

SOME RECENTLY RECALLED TOYS: Yes, Mr Potato Head Too!

–49,000 Disney™ Deluxe Winnie-the-Pooh 23-piece play sets by J.C. Penney (Oct. 11, 2007) for lead content. [http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08022.html]

–675,000 Barbie accessory toys by Mattel Inc. (Sept. 4, 2007) for lead content. [ http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07301.html ]
–97,000 Mr. Potato Head “Make a Monster Pumpkin” and Mr. Potato Head “Make a Fireman Pumpkin” and Mrs. Potato Head “Make a Diva Pumpkin” by Paper Magic Group Inc., of Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 24, 2006) for choking risks. [http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07013.html]

Q: AFTER WORLD WAR TWO, WHO FLED TO PARAQUAY
A: FOLLOWERS OF THE FUHRER

AND WHO’S MAY BE MOVING THERE NOW?

Prensa Latina reportw:

Asuncion, Oct 18 (Prensa Latina) The land grab project of US Presiden George W. Bush in Chaco, Paraguay, has generated considerable discomfort both politically and environmentally.

The news circulating the continent about plans to buy 98,840 acres of land in Chaco, Paraguay, near the Triple Frontier (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) is the talk of the town in these countries.

Concern increased last week with the arrival of Bush” daughter, Jenna, and a source from the Physical Planning Department saying that most of the Chaco region belongs to private companies.”

ARE WE IN A POLICE STATE ALREADY

Former NY Times reporter Chris Hedges considers this issue on Truthdig.org

A Dallas jury, a week ago, caused a mistrial in the government case against this country’s largest Islamic charity. The action raises a defiant fist on the sinking ship of American democracy.

If we lived in a state where due process and the rule of law could curb the despotism of the Bush administration, this mistrial might be counted a victory. But we do not. The jury may have rejected the federal government’s claim that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development funneled millions of dollars to Middle Eastern terrorists. It may have acquitted Mohammad el-Mezain, the former chairman of the foundation, of virtually all criminal charges related to funding terrorism (the jury deadlocked on one of the 32 charges against el-Mezain), and it may have deadlocked on the charges that had been lodged against four other former leaders of the charity, but don’t be fooled. This mistrial will do nothing to impede the administration’s ongoing contempt for the rule of law. It will do nothing to stop the curtailment of our civil liberties and rights. The grim march toward a police state continues….

IPS/ALTERNET: Rumsfeld Flees France, Fearing Arrest

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fled France today fearing arrest over charges of “ordering and authorizing” torture of detainees at both the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. military’s detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unconfirmed reports coming from Paris suggest.

U.S. embassy officials whisked Rumsfeld away yesterday from a breakfast meeting in Paris organized by the Foreign Policy magazine after human rights groups filed a criminal complaint against the man who spearheaded President George W. Bush’s “war on terror” for six years.

SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS
Study Finds Many Vets Without Insurance

WASHINGTON (AP) - About one of every eight veterans under the age of 65 are uninsured, a finding that contradicts the assumption many have that all vets qualify for free health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, says a new study.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School projected that about 1.8 million veterans overall lack health coverage. That’s an increase of 290,000 since 2000. The researchers said most uninsured veterans are in the middle class and are ineligible for VA care because of their incomes. Still others cannot afford their copayments, or lack VA facilities in their community.

John Edwards “Breaks His Silence”.. Discovers System is CORRUPT

It’s time to tell the truth. And the truth is the system in Washington is corrupt. It is rigged by the powerful special interests to benefit they very few at the expense of the many. And as a result, the American people have lost faith in our broken system in Washington, and believe it no longer works for ordinary Americans. They’re right.

As I look across the political landscape of both parties today — what I see are politicians too afraid to tell the truth — good people caught in a bad system that overwhelms their good intentions and requires them to chase millions of dollars in campaign contributions in order to perpetuate their careers and continue their climb to higher office.