October 9, 2008 archive

The stock market has just dropped 7.3%.  So far this month, the Dow has fallen nearly 25%.  In October 1929, it dropped 20%.  The market has already exceeded the crash of 1929.

Don’t like relying upon the Dow?  In the crash of 1987, the Standard and Poor’s 500-stock index dropped 20.5%.  So far, in the last eight days, the S&P 500 is down 22%.

I have no words.  The TED spread is an unbelievable 4.23 – over double the average of the last year, meaning that the premium to borrow money is so high that it is nearly impossible for any entity to do so.  Nearly 1 in 6 homeowners – almost 20%! – owe more on their mortgage that their homes are worth.

This isn’t even supposed to be possible.  Safeguards instituted after the crash of 1987 are supposed to stop trading entirely before these kinds of drops happen.  It beggars belief.

Like I said, I have no words.  But you need to pay attention to this.  One day you’ll tell your grandkids about how you were there during the crash of 2008.

1. Here’s a good sign. The Hill reports Bush starts preparing for transition. George W. Bush has “signed an executive order directing his staff to start preparing for” his successor. The Washington Post adds that by “creating a special council to govern the transition to a new administration in January, marking another major step toward the end of Bush’s eight tumultuous years in office.” Bush issued the order 26 days before the election.

   The transition team will be “chaired by White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and will include at least 14 other senior officials, among them the attorney general, the national intelligence director and the national archivist.” According to CBS News, “President Clinton issued a similar Executive Order on presidential transition to his successor… though his came after the election, on Nov 27, 2000.” Bush has created such a disaster leaving the United States in such a mess that he wants to escape responsibility as soon as possible. He’s jumping the gun on the transition. Only 102 days left of Bush.

Four at Four continues with whale-killing sonar at the Supreme Court, oil prices and slavery in Dubai, and plans by the European Union to use the financial crisis as justification to ditch commitment to address the climate crisis.

My 6 year-old daughter, Josephine, REFUSES to learn to ride her bicycle, mostly because the act of doing so doesn’t make any sense to her.

How is it possible that she can balance and steer and turn and start herself by herself without falling — SMACK — on the asphalt.

“You’re not going to let go of me, right? Right? You’ll hold on? And you’ll run with me, right? You promise you won’t let me fall and even if I fall you won’t let me be hurt? Promise? Promise PROMISE?”

I try and assure her, as best I can that its going to be alright, but we keep ending up getting emotional… and frustrated… and angry with each other because I CAN’T actually “promise PROMISE” she won’t get hurt and she can’t seem to imagine the possibility that she can DO something she’s never done before.

Faith. It all comes down to faith.

And so the two of us struggle along… me running and holding and catching and trying my best to tell her it will someday happen, even though both of us are starting to believe that its NEVER GOING TO–

Wait. Hang on…

As noted in McCain DisDain for being truthful, the townhall debate actually fostered some good questions.  And, for the first time in the Presidential debates and far more pointedly than has occurred in any traditional TV situation, Ingrid Jackson asked a pointed question on climate change (video):

Sen. McCain, I want to know, we saw that Congress moved pretty fast in the face of an economic crisis. I want to know what you would do within the first two years to make sure that Congress moves fast as far as environmental issues, like climate change and green jobs?