Archive → September 29th, 2008
Gingrich calls for Paulson’s resignation
Speaking on This Week with George Stephanopolous, former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
“You have the former Chairman of Goldman Sachs asking for 700 billion dollars, and in his initial request, asking for it in such an un-American way that I think he should have resigned. I think Paulson has terminally misunderstood the nature of the American system. Not just no review, no judicial review, no congressional accountability. Give me 700 billion dollars, 700 BILLION dollars! ‘I’ll be glad to spend it for you.’ That’s a centralization of power that is totally un-American.”
Perhaps Paulson could be let back into the community if he wore a magnetic bracelet that tracks his whereabouts.
Bailout vote seems headed to failure
House Democrats didn’t need a single Republican vote to pass the bailout package on Monday, but by 1 PM Central time, the controversial bill, being sold to the public as a panic measure to stave off a “second Great Depression.”
However, the vote unexpectedly went awry on Monday and was headed toward defeat at 227 against to 206 in favor, when Speaker Pelosi suspended the vote to twist the arms of straying Democrats and try to swing the vote back in favor of passage.
With everything from promises of committee memberships to threats of DNA testing on the table for Pelosi, the failure of the measure with her party in the majority is only the latest humiliation for the Speaker, who has lead the House of Representatives to the lowest-ever approval rating in modern US history, and failed to achieve any accomplishments of note in her two years in power.
Oil falls below $100 per barrel again
It’s a bit premature to forget that electric car and start looking into an old bus for sale; however, oil did fall below $100 per barrel on Monday for the second time in less than 30 days. By midday trading, oil had fallen more than eight dollars off Friday’s closing price, averaging around $98.65 per barrel.
This is despite US Gulf Coast crude production still ramping up following Hurricanes Ike and Gustav; presently, 57 percent of oil and 53 percent of natural gas production from the Gulf Coast region remains shut down; as these facilities ramp back up, a further tumble of gas prices is expected, which could bring oil as low as around $80 per barrel over the next 30 to 45 days, which could be low enough to see US pump prices dip below $3.00 per gallon for the first time since early 2008.
In other words, things are looking up; however, in the long term they will only stay stable at these lower levels if offshore, shale and ANWAR remain on the table to increase US production in the near term, and the push toward fuel and energy alternatives remains at the forefront of US priorities.
US Dollar on the rebound
While much talk has been bandied about regarding the troubled US stock market and economy, we have not yet experienced a 2008 Black Friday; in fact, there are some encouraging signs in the marketplace, believe it or not.
According to a Times UK article, the British pound, which peaked earlier this year at over $2.00 in value compared to the US dollar, fell to $1.7962 against the dollar, a 10-day low and a sharp decline from the earlier high this year.
The Euro also fell against the US dollar, closing at $1.4340 today (Monday).
While it’s far too early to declare the US dollar out of trouble, it is showing signs of a potential resurgence. This should be an encouraging signs, if the trend continues, in the months ahead; not that the mainstream liberal US media will mention it until after the election is over.
