Election Eve, It is Finally Here

Well, tomorrow is the day to get out and vote.  The race is a very tight one and it is simply impossible to guess how it will turn out.  Don't let the media fool you into thinking there is no need to vote as it is already decided - that is not the case.  VOTE VOTE VOTE!!  I cannot say that enough.

Here is some food for thought on your way to the polls:

Remember it was not all that long ago that Biden was quoted as saying that they did not support coal - clean coal technology or otherwise.  This surprises me little, but it does cause serious reason for worry.

However things turn out, just make sure that your voice is heard!  GET OUT AND VOTE!

Investors Still Leery of Troubled Market.

Yet again, the financial section of the nation's newspapers is looking bleak. It seems that it will be quite a while before we see any results from the government's interventions into the national financial meltdown. We still seem to be rushing toward a depression to rival the 1930's.

Meanwhile, however, if you have the nerves and some spare cash lying around, maybe you should take a closer look at the market. It just might be the time to invest in some stocks of your own. While the market is still fluctuating, and we still have a bear market to deal with, many of the stocks on Wall Street can now be bought for bargain prices.

So if you don't have to have your money back from your investment within say the next five years, you could actually stand to make a decent profit from your investment in the long run. Many investors are still very afraid to leave their money tied up in the fickle stock market, and are selling their stocks on an everything goes, bargain price deal. This makes for very good shopping for the common investor looking for a deal.

If you have always wanted stock in a company, now just might be the time to check into it, do some research and see what the stock is selling for. You just might be able to pick some up for a song. Don't let this opportunity pass you buy. While everyone else is trying to sell out, be quick and snap up the chance to own the stocks of your dreams for minimal investment – leaving the door open to a large profit at a later date.

Happy investing.

Bear Market A Year Old

The "Bear Market" on Wall Street is a year old today.  That is one of the biggest headlines in today's news.  Okay, so what exactly is a Bear Market, you might ask?  Well Wikepedia explains a Bear Market like this:

"A bear market is described as being accompanied by widespread pessimism. Investors anticipating further losses are often motivated to sell, with negative sentiment feeding on itself in avicious circle. The most famous bear market in history was preceded by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and lasted from 1930 to 1932, marking the start of the Great Depression.^[5] A milder, low-level, long-term bear market occurred from about 1973 to 1982, encompassing the stagflation of U.S. economy, the 1970s energy crisis, and the high unemployment of the early 1980s.

Prices fluctuate constantly on the open market; a bear market is not a simple decline, but a substantial drop in the prices of the majority of stocks in a given market over a defined period of time. According to The Vanguard Group, "While there’s no agreed-upon definition of a bear market, one generally accepted measure is a price decline of 20% or more over at least a two-month period."^[6]

Investors frequently confuse bear markets with corrections. Market corrections are shorter than a bear market and have a total measured decline of less than 20%^{[citation needed]}. Bear markets on the other hand occur over a longer period with typically greater magnitudes of decline in prices from top to bottom. The distinction between the two is not absolutely clear when there is a price decline between 15% and 20%"

So What exactly does this really mean?  Well, in plain English, a Bear Market is one in which everyone is afraid and uncertain.  They don't want to hold on to their stocks because they are afraid of even greater losses.

Well, what else is new?  The market has been on a downturn for a while now; and for the past week and a half, along with the economic crisis and all the problems the credit crunch and the housing crisis are bringing, the market is getting steadily worse.  The trouble is - it is really hard to blame the investors for being afraid.  They have good reason to be!

According to President Bush, the $700 Billion dollar Bail Out plan was both very necessary and the solution to these economic problems.  However, it would appear that if the housing market does not begin to recover, the bail out plan will not work.  So how did it actually fix anything?  So far the only things that I can actually see that the bail out plan has accomplished is to:

1). Cost the tax payer's $700 Billion Dollars

2). Increase our already large National Deficit by $700 Billion dollars

So again I ask, what have we actually fixed and accomplished with this plan?

Until we can fix our lagging economy and solve the critical financial problems that are facing our nation, we will continue to have a bear market that continues to fall.  Investors will continue to be afraid of loosing their investments and will continue to sell their stocks for a loss, rather than risking loosing even more in the future.  Hopefully the government will come up with a workable solution soon, and begin to actually solve this terrible economic crisis that is rapidly steering our nation toward a depression.

Bail Out Bill Passes....Not a Quick Fix

Well, President Bush passed the $700 Billion dollar bail out bill on Friday, October 3rd but it seems that it will not be either a quick fix or even a dependable one. If the housing market does not begin to recover, the banks will not believe the worst is past and they will not begin to open up lines of credit again. This was the entire purpose of the bail out bill - to re-open lines of credit, thus improving the nation's already disastrous economy.

So, don't look to be able to buy that new car or new home just yet. So far the stock market is still dangerously low, and the price of houses is still falling. If things do not make the needed turn around, the billions of dollars in tax payer money will have been spent on a wasted effort. Let us all hope and pray that this does work and things do begin to improve soon. If not, I fear that our nation is heading toward a depression that will greatly resemble the Great Depression of the 1930's. We really cannot afford for that to happen.

This election is going to be very important for many reasons - one of the biggest ones being the nation's economy. The catch is, the bail out bill does not seem to be working as of yet, and both candidates voted for it. So who knows which one will do the most good for our troubled nation? McCain admits that the economy is not his strong suit, but he seems better equipped to deal with foreign policy than Obama does. Both are serious considerations. And as far as helping McCain to deal with the economic issues, I fear that Palin will not be of much help. She may be strong on energy issues, but she seems to be at a serious loss where the nation's economy is concerned.

Hopefully the bail out bill will work its magic in the next few days and things will begin to improve. At least then a somewhat stronger national economy can be handed over to the next President.

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On a lighter note, we will be hitting the road again tomorrow morning and are headed to an area where I am unable to get on the Internet. It may be a few days before I am able to post again. Hang in there, and have patience with me. I will start posting again as soon as possible!

Palin VS Biden: VP's to Debate Tonight!

Don't forget that the Vice Presidential debate - the only chance to see these two go at it - is tonight.  It will be on CNN live at 9:00 ET and on CNN.com as well.  You will also be able to hear the debate on satellite radio as well.

Hopefully we will be able to gain some new insight into these two VP candidates.  Normally most American's don't pay that much attention to the VP candidates, but with one Presidential candidate in his 70's and the other already having had threats on his life, they are important this go round!

Biden has a lot of debating experience as well as a lot of experience in Washington.  Palin is the new kid on the block, quite literally, and it would seem that she gains either a love or hate relationship with America's voters.  Hopefully it will not be too much of a slaughter and we will be able to learn more about both of them.

Don't forget to tune into the debate tonight!  America's future is riding on these candidates.

Government Web Servers and Phone Lines Swamped!

Finally the American people are beginning to wake up and let their voices be heard!  Thank you.  However, the result of this is that the servers for the Senate and House websites cannot handle the traffic.  Don't give up!  Keep calling and emailing.

You can find out more information about the bail out plan here:  Bail Out Bill Info, if you can get the page to load.  It is supposed to contain the specifics of the proposed bail out bill.  However, the site is swamped and so far I have been unable to get it to load.  I will keep trying!

Senate to Vote AGAIN on Bail Out Bill

It seems like the only thing you can hear about on the news lately is this extremely controversial Bail Out Bill for Wall Street that is somehow supposed to save main street.  I really don't think this should be as much of a news worthy bill as everyone else seems to.

Ok, let me clarify that last statement before I make some of you very angry.  YES, the American people need to know about it, but come on it should be a no-brainer and a definite NO on the vote.  I really don't see why our government should feel the need to bail them out in the first place.

For starters, rewarding the culprits of this disaster with $700 billion dollars of the taxpayers money seems to be a bit of a double negative.  First off, our budget is already way overspent, and we really can't afford this bail out.  Secondly, since when do you reward someone who is obviously doing wrong - and more than likely stealing, and breaking the laws - with billions of dollars.  That seems to be sending the wrong message, instead of saying crime doesn't pay, here we have our government trying to say that CRIME DOES PAY!!  And in billions of dollars to boot.  Now tell me how this makes good sense?

I admit that there are similarities between the current financial situation and the 1930's great depression, and there is a good possibility that we will end up in another great depression if something is not done - HOWEVER, there is no guarantee that we won't end up in another great depression if they do pass this bill.  Actually, in the long run, it is likely to do more harm than good, for several reasons.

It will give the impression that it is ok to continue business as usual, no problem - the government will bail us out.  They will not learn any lessons from this!  Take for example giving your child your credit card and telling them to go shopping.  Now then, that child DOES go shopping and spends way more money than the limit on the credit card.  Instead of properly disciplining the child and letting them learn a valuable lesson, you simply take the card and the debt and then give them more money to fix the problem.  They now have more money to go spend and have not learned a darn thing.  It would be the exact same thing if this bill passes.

Apparently there are a lot of angry American citizens that feel like I do.  You cannot get through to the Capitol Hill Switchboard without a lot of redialing - you keep getting the recording that:  "all circuits are busy now, please try your call again later", and getting through to the senate or house web server is a nightmare as well.  It keeps giving a server error because their websites are swamped with traffic.

Don't give up hope though, keep trying to call and email them, America!  They need to wake up and listen to the people they are supposed to be representing.  They should be held accountable for their  actions, and they should have to truly represent the majority's feelings - the people they are paid and elected to represent.  Not their own personal agendas!

Make your voices heard on this important issue.  You can contact the Capitol Hill Switchboard at this number:  (202) 224 - 3121, and the web site for the US Senate is :  US Senate Home Page and the US House of Representatives can be found on the web here:  US House of Reps Home Page.  Contact them today and let your voice be heard!  We can let them know what we think and want; we can make waves and even make changes by simply telling them where we stand on these important issues.

Tell them How you Feel!  Don't sit by and let them make the decisions for you, without saying a word!