Few things shock me anymore, I'm sad to say. However, Monday, September 29, 2008, was something to behold. Not only didn't the insidious "bail out" pass in the U.S. House of Representatives, but a substantial number of Americans put up such a ruckus, it had to have had a very chilling effect on the shadow government. As I watched the DOW tank to -777, I wondered why the Bush Administration's PPT (Plunge Protection Team) didn't step in and stop the dive. It occurred to me why the money cartel may have decided not to intervene. The American people would come home from work, already worried about the economy, see the stock market had tanked big time and panic.

Immediately following the vote, all the finger pointing began with what can only be described as behavior attributable to kindergartners. Pelosi went on record saying the Democrats would not pass this "end of the world legislation" unless they got "cover" from a bipartisan vote with a large enough number of Republicans. I kid you not, that's what this flaky female upchucked. Not to be outdone, millions by now have seen Republicans respond to allegations that some of them voted against the bill because of Pelosi's rancorous criticism of Bush and the GOP right before the vote.

Both sides began a propaganda campaign, aided and abetted by fact challenged media and cable news network hot shots like Bill O'Reilly and McCain pimp, Sean Hannity. Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, must be cackling from Hell. The mantra took on a form and text that has been virtually unchanged for three days as I write this column; it has been repeated by Obama and McCain shamelessly. As I write this, Obama is on the senate floor spewing the same propaganda: If this rescue plan doesn't get passed, small employers won't be able to make payroll on Friday. College students won't be able to pay tuition. Businesses can't borrow. Americans won't be able to buy a car or home. Commerce will stop. These key sentences have been repeated over and over and over.

Without question, the situation is bleak as thousands of us have written for years. Maria Bartiromo, CNBC financial expert (whose credibility came into question regarding her cozy relationship with Citigroup), stated on MSNBC, September 30, 2008, and I'm paraphrasing: Banks aren't lending and until the banks are "recapitalized," they won't loan. Couples with perfect credit will have trouble getting a home mortgage, never mind those with 'a problem.'

In other words, because these massive lending institutions and banks have been caught with cooked books and gross mismanagement, the American people must bail them out to "recapitalize," reward incompetence and perhaps even criminal activity. Americans who should never have qualified for home loans should be given special treatment at the expense of those who have never been able to buy a home (or don't want one), or who make their loan payments on time.

I called our federal credit union today to inquire about a car loan; I'm not buying, just doing research. They said they're loaning and happy to help me out. I called our federal savings bank to inquire about a home mortgage; I'm not buying, just doing research. Well, they certainly are making loans. I see Countrywide's current ads seeking home buyers. I have no doubt that credit has tightened up considerably, but banks and lending institutions are supposed to be cautious with depositors and stock holders money. If they make bad loans and bad decisions, like any other business, they fail. Yes, we're talking about banks here, but in a free market system which works best, government bail outs, while not only being unconstitutional, will never solve the problem.

While the majority of Americans are at work (or school) during the day and with time at a premium, many are not able to see anything other than the scare tactics we've seen this past week. While millions of Americans (Bravo!) hit the phones, faxes and emails to Congress, many more don't see the big picture or understand just how complicated the system has become: A behemoth bringing down our country, drowning we the people in debt. Please remember that while you and I and our children are "recapitalizing" these lenders and banks, the bad debt is still there. With this vote, the government is going to unconstitutionally buy all this used toilet paper.

Since my last column, the national debt has now risen above $10 TRILLION dollars. The people's purse is overdrawn in numbers most people can't comprehend, yet Congress is jumping out of their skin to write even more hot checks to bail out bad businesses and the list will continue to grow. Despite the new "loans" given the big auto makers last week from an empty treasury, the outlook is bleak: June 20, 2008. General Motors Death Watch 181: Bankruptcy. "Meanwhile, despite their political influence, the United Auto Workers will not be happy; the Mother of All Health Care VEBAs will not be funded. Period. The union will have to make do with what they have. DT figures the rest of the OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) also face a grim, under-funded future."

Why the shrill insistence that "something" get done before Congress adjourns? Why the massive push to "cobble" together a bill before Congress goes out of session for a three month vacation? The DOW took a dive on Monday, but on Tuesday closed up 485, recovering much of the loss from the day before. While Congress was closed to celebrate the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hosana, the market worked on its own. Back on October 3, 2006, Michael Nystrom, penned an excellent piece titled, The Dow's Phony High, where he pointed out:

"But look beyond the headlines, and you see a different story. While the Dow hit a new high today, not a single of its component stocks did. Interesting, isn't it? The index is at a new all time high, but 70% of its components are down 20% or more!"

Where did this $700 billion dollar number come from? It's been repeated ad nauseum. When one considers these inept public servants (both parties) turned a blind eye until the problem blew up in their faces right before they were ready to adjourn for the year, don't they wonder how this $700 billion dollar price tag was suddenly thrown out there? Perhaps this will solve the puzzle for them:

"Our buddy from two lifetimes ago, Carl Lavin over at Forbes.com, points out a fascinating paragraph buried in a story on his web site late last week by Brian Wingfield and Josh Zumbrun.

"You know, this $700-billion figure that exploded into everyday political parlance almost as fast as Sarah? The $700-billion "cost" of resolving the financial crisis and restoring confidence and liquidity in the credit markets starting this morning?

"The $700-billion figure that Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid first said he could really use McCain's help with, but then the Arizonan took him up on it and Reid suddenly said the Republican would only get in the way and anyway, Reid said, he already had a done deal, except he didn't and the Nevadan ended up being the embarrassed one?

"The $700-billion figure that won't really end up being anywhere near the actual cost because no one knows what all those mortgaged properties are really worth now anyway? Which is the whole problem in the first place because the institutions holding that paper don't know the value of what they're holding either, which is why everyone suddenly got so frightened?

"That $700-billion figure that won't really last because eventually the feds will sell off what they're buying and might even make a profit in the end as they did with the Chrysler bailout warrants years ago? You know where that very important $700-billion figure came from?

"Here's a quote from that Forbes story: "It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number." They made it up to be sufficiently ginormous to frighten everyone into rapid action. And it worked."