Jingle Bells – Christmas USA 2008

Christmas is a time for gift giving. The biggest gift to America this holiday season is that the aggressively foolish GW Bush rule is finally finishing its catastrophic eight-year term in office.

Apart from this pending good news of his imminent departure, his other gifts constitute socks filled with coal: two wars he started and could not win; US economic structure in collapse; international reputation for torturing captives; inability to organize for natural disasters; failure to protect national borders from illegal trespassing; continued massive dependence on foreign oil; a foreign policy dominated by Israeli interests; and an expansion of international terror.

Each day GWB remains in office, it is apparent that his continued presence seems to inflame the crises. His victory lap to Iraq recently backfired in an absurd spectacle of him targeted by tossed, flying shoes. Even his insouciant China doll press spokesman Perino got a black eye in the melee. She was attacked by a microphone. Hors de combat? Based on Bush's low standards, he probably will award her the Presidential Freedom Medal. Bush's chronic maladroitness is astounding.

Former eagle scout, Treasury Secretary Paulson, has apparently already squandered over 250 billion dollars out of the bailout fund without much impact. Mystery is how it was spent. Congressional oversight personnel cannot break his spending code. Banks that received the bailout money are paying dividends and buying new acquisitions. With the automobile bailout now earmarked, Paulson has come to Congress for permission to spend the last 250 billion before Obama is in charge. GWB would say, YOUR DOING A HELLUVA JOB PAULI.

One of the under reported stories is the 50 billion dollar ponzi swindle by Wall Street man-about-NYC Bernie Madoff. Bernie was the former chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange. He has been running a hedge fund for several years. He is a super Jew whose exploited clients were the creme de la creme of the American Jewish community, e.g. Spitzer family, Yeshiva University, Mort Zukerman, Steven Spielberg, and Eli Wiesel. Additionally he stole from synagogues, Jewish charities and hospitals.

He seemingly produced 10% to 12% on investments. To participate in his fund, you had to be invited – it was exclusive only for chosen people. It turned out to be a huge scam. Bernie would use newly invested dollars to pay off interest to the old investors. Once the stock market started to tank and investors demanded their money, the jig was up. Bernie was arrested. He is now confined to his 8 million dollar digs in NYC pending trial. His investors lost billions. Where did the money go? Ask Bernie – coddled life style for sure. Yachts, fancy houses all over the world.

Investors who lose money because they took risks without due diligence are not to be pitied. In this case, given the high visibility, celebrity status of the power-player investors, each assumed foolishly that the other knew what they were doing. The bond of ethnic solidarity played no small role in Madoff's deception. Bernie betrayed his own tribe for pieces of silver.

The Security Exchange Commission headed by Bush-appointed Christopher Cox who is charged with the responsibility to monitor fraud failed to close down Bernie's scam despite several tips and warnings over the years. There is a major Wall Street scandal of why the SEC failed to move on Bernie years ago. Did bribes or the old-boy network play a role in protecting him? Two books are already underway on the fracas. GW Bush would say, YOU DID A HELLUVA JOB COXY.

Obama is steadfastly rolling out his major political appointments with a quiet dignity. Contrast this with GW Bush's current inept scatter-gun efforts to revise the sordid history of his rule.

There is no question that some of Obama's appointments have upset progressive elements of his party, especially those involving national security and the economy. But the issue that has wound up his gay supporters is his selection of a virulent, anti-gay evangelical pastor from Orange county California named Rick Warren to conduct the invocation during his presidential inauguration. Obama's record is clear on support of gay rights, but Warren is tied to the success of proposition 8 in California which outraged the gay community.

Obama may have underestimated the energy, determination and frenzy of the gay community on this issue. As a result, he may have the San Francisco contingent of painted drag queens and cavorting sugar plum fairies protest by marching down Pennsylvania Avenue at his inauguration parade. Bible preachers and gay activists are a combustible cocktail. Merry Christmas! Colonel Robert E Bartos USA Ret.