And I thought the Ryder Cup was entertaining

I've been watching the Congressional hearings on whether or not to bail out the financial institutions to the tune of $700,000,000,000...

I think about the AAV (Average American Voter) and if they are paying any attention to this historic bail-out....keeping in mind that the other day in a Mexican restaurant I asked a middle age woman who she was going to vote for and her direct answer was....."well, I'm sure not voting for a Muslim."

I paused for a second waiting for her follow up laughter and then noticed that she wasn't telling a joke. I answered by saying that he wasn't a Muslim and where did she get her information....she said....

" I saw him dressed in all that GARB."

Of course I answered by explaining that he had visited his father's homeland of Kenya and was simply dressing in the ceremonial robes as a gesture of respect....and in truth he is a Christian.

The sad part of this is that I have to argue why a person of any religion would be excluded in America from being President, but that's so far down the rungs on the ladder of political reality that it's not even available for explanations.

The radical elements within any religion are radical and no religion is without it's radical elements.

But I've traversed off of point and steering back into the original direction of my thoughts...I think how uninformed the average voter probably is regarding Obama and I realize that the financial bail-out is so far off the charts of awareness...that it can't even be calculated.

There are 300,000,000 people in this country. I estimate that 5,000,000 people might be watching the Congressional hearings and of those 5 million there are probably 3,000,000 who are directly tied into the financial markets and are waiting for an answer so they can jump into the market and buy or sell depending on the decision reached by Congress.

A few things about Congress. I'm still amazed at how Ron Paul seems to keep making sense even though I know I don't subscribe to his basic political belief system. He used to be a Libertarian and now he's a Republican and neither of those parties play a tune that I enjoy....but when Ron Paul keeps asking where all the money is coming from....HE'S GOT A GOOD POINT.

But one other thing about Congress.....IF WE LET EACH MEMBER OF CONGRESS ASK QUESTIONS AND GIVE THEIR OPINION...WE WOULD BE LISTENING TO THEM LONG AFTER THE CUBS WON ANOTHER WORLD SERIES. THOSE FOLKS CAN TALK AND THEY ARE SEIZING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CAMPAIGN....while explaining how they view the economic situation of a free market place system.

THE TRUTH IS...OUR SYSTEM OF DEMOCRACY AND FREE ENTERPRISE IS STILL FAIRLY YOUNG AND SINCE THIS IS THE FURTHEST WE'VE TRAVELED ON THIS PLANET AND THE FURTHEST THAT A SYSTEM SUCH AS OURS HAS FLOURISHED, THEN WE DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW IT WILL PLAY OUT.

AND EACH AND EVERYONE OF THOSE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE NO IDEA HOW A BAIL-OUT WILL AFFECT THE ECONOMY

IT WILL BOLSTER THE STOCK MARKET IN THE SHORT TERM

A SHORT TERM BAND-AID IS GOOD FOR THE MOMENT, BUT WHEN STITCHES ARE NEEDED THE BAND-AID DOESN'T WORK.

A MUCH STRONGER BAND-AID WOULD BE THE REDUCTION OF 10 BILLION DOLLARS A MONTH BEING SPENT IN IRAQ IN ORDER TO CREATE A DEMOCRACY THAT WILL NEVER BE A DEMOCRACY AS WE VIEW THE TERM.

THE RELIGIOUS FACTIONS IN IRAQ ARE ALSO THE RELIGIOUS FACTIONS IN IRAN AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON....and DEMOCRACY is not the answer in Religious Tribal Societies.

I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER... EXCEPT TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF WEAPONS IN THE WORLD AND TRY TO APPLY LOVING SOLUTIONS TO THE ON-GOING TASK OF LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER AS A HUMAN SPECIES.

Pretty simple....but probably too late....especially when your AAV thinks Barack Obama is a Muslim.

The Karl Rove Doctrine is in place and working extremely well.

Michael Timothy McAlevey