40,000. That’s the number of postal workers nationwide threatened with soon to happen lay-offs. Might even be by Xmas. 40,000. It’s not easy to wrap your head around that number is it? That’s not a small number folks. With this year already reaching record unemployment figures (a 6.5% claim but more like 15%) and record layoffs, this 40,000 is gonna trigger big bad waves. This is one of those time bombs I’ve been warning about (see 11/11/08. Also see http://blogs.jamaicans.com/gwgraeme/ 11/13/08).

George Bush scorched earth policy is in play, leaving the incoming president with little good news. At the same time, the bailout money now definitely is going to the wrong people, to do the wrong things… bailing out corporations that effed up, while increasing the debt and perilous living of those individuals and families who are already really in trouble.

Mark my words, the post off ice news is the tip. I forecast more government jobs to go… not to mention the hordes of private sector jobs just waiting to fall like dominoes. When Xmas does poorly as it must, retailers are gonna join the act.

Consumers are the engine of this society? Well this engine is running on one cylinder.

The logic of government and private sector always fail me. The country is run on the basis of the ‘people’ spending they say, but who spends when they are laid off? Who spends when they don’t have job? The little spending is likely to come from borrowing and credit cards… and the credit card companies are locking off that avenue. No wonder the country is falling fast into recession.

It is now clear. No need for a crystal ball. Obama’s priority has to be jobs. Jobs creation, jobs repatriation, government jobs, private sector jobs… JOBS!

Oh. As to the postal workers, this is another indictment of George Bush. This is the first time in its history that the post office will layoff workers. Go George, you are indeed #1.
***
On said note of Bush laying this land to waste, treasury secretary Paulson is changing the understanding of the bailout plan. In a normal world, this could be seen as good news. But in Bush’s bizarro world, the small man can only see this as trouble.

Bush is utterly incapable of helping the unwashed, whose only value was to provide him with enough votes to accelerate our demise. If we think that he had even a single shred of conscience, it is wise to disabuse ourselves of that notion.

However to be fair, Paulson announced that the regime was looking to ‘provide support for credit card debt, auto loans, and student loans’. Credit card debt support is something I advocated weeks ago, but we will have to wait and see if these are merely palliative words. If this happens, then, although my sentiments about Bush remains largely the same, at least he might have just the tiniest bit of a conscience. I wouldn’t bet on it though.

To re-phrase Kanye West, “George Bush doesn’t like POOR people!”.
***
The stock market should soon see some stability. The hiccups can’t last forever. I wouldn’t take today’s rebound to mean everything, but the fact is that it is being manipulated and that will come to an end.

The price of gas which is selling below $2.20 in many places, has to bottom-out soon and make its way back up. I’m guessing that the price we should really be paying should be about $1.70-$1.90 a gallon, so the fall shouldn’t make its way below that. The problem is that when it begins moving upwards, it could do so as quickly.
***
The soon-to-be-but-not-fast-enough-ex-president recently defended that dying monster, capitalism. His words carried a certain irony, “Our aim should not be more government. It should be smarter government”. Smarter… something he was incapable of applying in his 8 years.

“…the crisis was not a failure of the free market system. And the answer is not to try to reinvent that system”. Wrong again. The crisis was about the failure of the capitalist system, which has outlived its usefulness, and which now calls desperately for extreme transformation.
***
As I said recently, Obama will be tested by a number of countries, some America considers allies (by the way, you won’t hear Barack Obama using the words ‘axis of evil’ to describe any country).

But as I said, most of these tests won’t be in the form of measuring whether he is weak or strong, but whether he will bring a new American foreign policy to the world. Of course, the neo-cons will give a different spin on like the following activities.

North Korea said it would not allow outside inspectors to take soil samples from its main nuclear complex. Considering that the US has not lived up to its agreement with North Korea… threat level: baby blue.

Iran successfully tested a missile capable of reaching southeastern Europe. Considering that they all have many more destructive missiles that Iran has, and have capable missile shields, that’s not going to cause any loss of sleep for Obama or Europe. Ok, or Israel. Threat level: neon pink.

Russia rejected an American proposal over planned missile system in Poland and Czech Republic. Threat level: beige.

None of the above countries have made threatening overtures towards the United States. Russia has only pushed back with the American hostile actions in Georgia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Russia is the only one who left alone, might create some discomfort for Americans.

But Obama well knows that if George Bush hadn’t betrayed Russia, this state of affairs would be far more amicable.

Anyone who objectively looks at recent history, will see that all the major tensions and wars involving America, have been provoked by previous US actions. Yes, even 9/11.
***
There’s a good reason why Bob Marley sung “… cause I feel like bombing a church, now that you know that the preacher is lying”. It was not a distrust of religions, but a repugnance for those who represent them.

America’s constitution speaks about the separation of church and state, and it’s an understanding that used to cut both ways. But in South Carolina, a Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners not to receive holy communion (nothing really holy about that) if they voted for Obama… because supporting him constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil”.

The fruitcake who fits right in with the Inquisition, said that those voters are putting their immortal souls at risk, unless they do penance. The evil, is that Obama supports a woman’s right to choose an abortion. “Ah feel like bombing a church…”.

Nationally, Catholic voters told this and other priests as well as the ‘Battiecan’ (as claimed with good sense by Rastafarians what with the level of child abuse charges against rc priests), to go to hell. 54% voted for Obama. “… now that we know the preacher is lying”.