The so-called season of giving is officially behind us. Even in these sluggish economic times, Americans still managed to spend more than $50 billion in gift-giving. Now that all the gifts have been opened, all that is left is for us to enjoy them.

Yet I can't help but wonder whether our pleasure would be dimmed were we to truly understand what is involved in bringing these gifts - at the bargain prices Americans love - to our homes.

There are those who say that the housing market is just one segment of our overall economy and bad loans are just a fraction of the housing market, so there is nothing to worry about. This viewpoint is wrong, because the housing market is not sealed off from the rest of the economy. On the contrary, clever Wall Street financiers have managed to convert a serious housing bust into a potentially cataclysmic financial crisis.

How many awards can Al Gore win from his worldwide coterie of sycophants?

The U.S. housing market is hurting, as you undoubtedly know. Home foreclosures are the highest since record-keeping began 35 years ago, as 1.69 percent of all outstanding mortgage loans have entered the foreclosure process. As of October, the median price of an American house fell more than $20,000 in 2007.

I asked a cow once what she thought of Ron Paul. She told me to moo-ve. I was surprised by the rude response. Looking down, however, I quickly realized that I was probably standing on her lunch. So, I moved off the patch of green grass. Then, I again asked Betsy what she thought of presidential candidate Ron Paul. Looking at me with those big brown eyes, her tail twitching, Betsy answered: "Ask the people in the house. I don't vote." 

Okay, that was a fair answer.  

People like those in the house do have an opinion about Ron Paul. Besides being generational family farmers, they are nearly fanatical about supporting Ron Paul for president. When asked why, speaking in unison, they say Paul has been attempting to protect the small farmers' rights in Congress. But protecting them from whom? 

(Special investigative report by Grünhaus Gaz, environmental correspondent.)

 

On December 4, 10,000 worldcrats and their coteries jetted into the Indonesian resort island of Bali to attend yet another in a long line of climate-change conferences.

Charles N. DavisIf your holiday shopping this season finds you in a bookstore, ask for the section on presidential history and take a peek. I'll hazard a guess you'll find literally hundreds of works of presidential history, from the scholarly tomes with hundreds of footnotes to the downright silly works on presidential pets.

Now, take a moment and imagine it's 2033, and you're looking for a nice downloadable e-book history of the Clinton or Bush presidency.

If your holiday shopping this season finds you in a bookstore, ask for the section on presidential history and take a peek. I'll hazard a guess you'll find literally hundreds of works of presidential history, from the scholarly tomes with hundreds of footnotes to the downright silly works on presidential pets.

Now, take a moment and imagine it's 2033, and you're looking for a nice downloadable e-book history of the Clinton or Bush presidency.

 

Mitt Romney"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

 

- Article VI, U.S. Constitution

 

Growing up in the 1960s, I saw firsthand the religious bigotry that John F. Kennedy encountered over his Catholic faith.

It's a nice sunny day so you decide to go anti-war protesting with your friends.

You will be arrested.

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