What's the proper fix in your mind, Mutt? Not attacking. Just wondering.

Just remember that for every crazy there is on the left...there is a crazy on the right too. They equal each other out.

Folks. This topic has prompted two "Moderator" notifications. Both were very much warranted and appropriate action was taken.

The financial area is NOT total open season to say whatever you like.

Crass actions will not be tolerated.

I was being good by not getting involved but just watching this post.

It wasn't me!
It wasn't me!

This looks to be a very divisive election. Who knows, that could wind up being a good thing. I just read one political columnist that I would call moderately right. His opinion was that Obama has gone so far overboard to track public opinions that he thinks that an Obama presidency would be even shallower than the Clinton era. And another columnist is convinced that McCain is too temperamental and independent to work with Congress. They have drawn the battle lines and it will be gory. It may be that if it gets too bad, the public will say enough. Of course, this is the public that revels in American Idol, Brittany Spears, and Paris Hilton.

Obviously, this is a ploy to get more votes. I suppose there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of registered voters who would like to see the >250K people taxed more.

I was naively (is that a word?) shocked at the taxes I paid for 2007. Business is up a tick over 20% after the first 2 quarters in 2008. Expenses are way down. We will most assuredly NOT be voting for Mr. Obama if he holds to this tax plan...

I provide a very valuable asset to my community, IMO, and it certainly does trickle down to my employees, suppliers, insurance cos, and a whole host of other businesses. So, because of my hard work, long hours, and ambition, Mr. Obama wants to penalize me more than we already are? How about cutting down on the rediculous spending and waste? No, that would make too much sense.

I've had enough. I'm going to close this thread.

Those (few) of you who venture over to the 'finance' area of the board may have noticed that political threads (that subject requiring no real knowledge---only an opinion and a willingness to declare it correct) attract a great deal of attention.

I notice that a good number of important posts about developments in the "financial" arena go unread and uncommented upon. Maybe I'm wasting my breath here.

Couple of data points for you to consider:

The Dow finished today 19.87% below it's latest high. Adjusted for the value of the dollar (118 in 2001, when the Dow was at 11350, now at 72), it has a constant dollar value below 7,000.

You're paying above $4.00 for a gallon of gas, and prices of staple groceries are through the roof---and you sit still and swallow the crap fed to you (and revised repeatedly) from "official" sources saying inflation is under control.

Real estate values have not only receded, they've headed south faster than any time in the history of these United States, INCLUDING THE DEPRESSION YEARS OF THE 1930s.

And you haven't got time to read more than a paragraph at a time of the reasons why?

And you want to waste our time parroting media planted soundbites and slogans?

My ASSUMPTION is that if you're on this section of the board, you have a real and present interest in what is going on in the financial markets--on a macro scale--and what it may mean to you personally. If that is NOT the case, or if you just want to 'mix it up' with politically motivated rants and diatribes, move on, there's no room for it here.

IGNORE THIS AREA if you're unwilling to do some reading and spend time considering the sources of information. If you want a few fast facts and a paragraph of pablum, report to the financial forums on Yahoo. This isn't the place for it. And if that means these discussions take place among half a dozen interested participants, I prefer THAT to this nonsense.

Let me make clear that the post CNY Boater posted as I was creating my latest post was not a part of my consideration--nor would it have been. If everyone's political commentary was as respectful as Bob's offering, we'd have no restrictions on political commentary...