USA Watchdog | October 19 2012
The big story this week was Round 2 of the Presidential Debates. Obama was on his game, but I still have to give a slight edge to Romney on the pounding he gave the President on the rotten economy. That said, I wish I could have asked a few questions of the candidates. Here’s three I would have asked:
- The Fed is printing $85 billion each and every month, half of which to bail out the banks’ sour mortgage debt, do you support the Fed on what it calls “open-ended” QE or money printing?
- There was not a single financial elite has been prosecuted in the wake of the financial meltdown. There was massive fraud and criminal activity on many levels. Would either of you investigate or prosecute them if elected president?
- Both of you support the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that allows for the indefinite detention of American Citizens without due process. Would either of you reverse this Constitutional atrocity if elected?
These are just a few of the questions the mainstream media will never ask. Of course, the Green Party candidate and the Libertarian candidate are not invited to the debates, even though they are on the ballot in most states.
There was more frightening news for the Middle East. In little more than a week, the U.S. will have 3 aircraft carriers in proximity to Iran. Meanwhile, Iran launched a sub and a destroyer in the Persian Gulf at the same time the U.S. is practicing clearing mines if Iran tries to close the Strait of Hormuz. In Syria, the New York Times is reporting Jihadists are getting American arms through countries like Saudi Arabia. I think you can also say the U.S. is indirectly arming al-Qaeda just like we did in Libya. I ask again, what kind of foreign policy is this?
Google had a surprise earnings miss. The stock sold off 8% in a day. The company made $14 billion in the last quarter. So, I don’t think it will go out of business any time soon.
The government released a good retail sales number of a 1.15% increase in September. Much of that increase was inflation and seasonal adjustments. This is why many do not trust government numbers and folks like former GE CEO Jack Welsh calls last week’s big decline in unemployment “nonsense.” Taxpayers basically pay the Bureau of Labor Statistics to spin the numbers to make things look better than reality. Both parties are guilty of this.
