If you were enjoying your Mother's Day today and didn't spoil it by watching the double whammy of Fox News & Howard Wolfson, this may be news to you.

Clinton aides continued to insist that she will remain in the race even while confirming that she is $20 million in debt. "The voters are going to decide this," senior adviser Howard Wolfson said on "Fox News Sunday," acknowledging the $20 million figure. "There is no reason for her not to continue this process." Wolfson said he has seen "no evidence of her interest" in pursuing the second-place spot on the Democratic ticket, contrary to rumors that she is staying in the race to leverage a bid for the vice presidential nomination.

I did happen to catch the segment on my DVR and Howard didn't explicity say it's $20M, but when asked, he confirmed they was $10M as of the last filing (can't wait to see the next) and confirmed Hillary's total outstanding Loans @ $11.6M.  Considering the fact that the campaign has a burn rate of $1M per day in staff, logistics and maybe now back interest, I'd expect the figure to approach closer to $30M in reality...

There has been a whole lot of speculation about how much exactly the Clinton campaign is in the red. We all know about the $11.4 million that the candidate owes herself. And there's the other, $7, $10, or $15 million. According to a story fresh out of the oven in the Washington Post, the figure stands at about $20 million. So, moneys owed to lenders and vendors whose last name is not Clinton stands at $8-9 million.

I've been reading the "way out" writings of Christopher Story for over two years. He was always such a mystery: Authority on International Currency - yet strangely involved with this Wanta guy. Wanta turned up on Tom Flocco's site and the term "Box Gang" was formed, and apparently survives (I have the PDFs if anyone is interested).

Back to Christopher Story (I Wanta Big Story is the name of my next art-piece): Apparently he is the heir to a financial newsletter in Britain that has been around since the '60s. He claims heritage. He claims to know where TRILLIONS of your dollars are - and why: Because they were stolen by - You Know Who - and their friends. Oh, yes, this is as dirty as it gets.

The whole latest article is posted below the virtual fold: But, I'm going to give you the link now (so you can follow up if the web crashes with all this info.Christopher Story's site.

President Bush's budgeting has been so disastrous that, despite starving some social programs (e.g. his own education program), he still ran record budget deficits and increased the national debt by over 50%. Even in the latest budget, his last (thank God), the budget deficit is running at some $400 billion. Now I know he'll want to blame the Democratic Congress, like Reagan did, so here’s what I’ll do: I’m going to focus on the first six years, when the GOP had total control of Congress. From 2001 to 2006, the Republicans had the majority in the House of Representatives. And the Senate was in the GOP’s hands for five of those six years, with the Democrats holding just a paltry single-seat majority for less than a year after Senator Jim Jeffords switch parties. So, we can safely blame this all on Bush and his party.

Lots of buzz lately about the possibility of Obama and Clinton brokering a deal where he helps her pay off her $25 million in campaign debt...and, lots of backlash from Obama fans who say they didn't donate to him only so the money could end up in HRC's campaign.

Well, I'm here to say:  Hillary, I'll give you $100 (my biggest single campaign donation ever) if you go away.

I wonder which Neocon came up with the rather insidious idea of these "rebate" checks from the government to us that will be arriving in the next week or two. I wouldn't give credit to Helicopter Ben Bernanke, since he wasn't around when the bush administration did this for the first time in 2001.

But what a brilliant way this is to steal a few thousand dollars from every American without them even realizing it.

The Huffington Post reported

On Friday, Barack Obama publicly raised the possibility of helping Hillary Clinton pay off more than $25 million in debts, including the $11.42 million she loaned her own campaign to keep it afloat in recent months.

Obama is quoted as "

Historically after a campaign is done and you want to unify the party, particularly when you've had a strong opponent, you want to make sure you're putting that opponent in a strong position so that they can work to win an election in November. So, obviously, I would want to have a broad range of discussions with Senator Clinton about how I could make her feel good about the process and have her on the team moving forward."

There has been talk for several days about the possibility of Obama helping Clinton pay off the debt brought about by her foolish, reckless spending.  That thought doesn't sit well in much of Obamaland, especially from donors like myself.  But there is a way to do it that does not involve Obama using the money from the army of small donors contributing over the internet, while increasing his own campaign funds and bringing the part together.

From Tennessee:

Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday that state tax collections have been "deteriorating dramatically" in recent months, and it will be necessary to make another $468 million in budget cuts.

He said that will necessitate cutting 5 percent of state jobs - or 2,011.

As Jim Morrison once sang..."This is the end, my only friend, the end."

For several months (seeming more like years), the primary has felt like a pitched battle.  A forced march.  I've watched my hair turn gray.  I've snapped at those I've loved.

But in the end, it's going to come down to this.  There's just no more money in the cupboard...save for that which HRC is lending herself.  And this is going to be what drives her off the road.

More after the flip

This is going to be quick, as I am sick as a dog today and need to go back to bed.

I personally cannot believe anyone is seriously considering either the idea of having Clinton as Obama's VP, or the idea that Obama should pay off Clinton's debt. I say a resounding hell no to both ideas.  There are tons of  honest, hard working folks out their who would make outstanding VP's.  And I really, really don't want any of the money I have donated going to HRC's campaign or debts.

There are ruminations about Obama Inc. paying off the debt that Clinton racked up during her irresponsible, irrational and outrageous bid for the presidency post-February.  My thoughts, in a word: absolutely not.

We all know that someone should have a long hard chat with HRC and point out to her that there is no chance that she is going to win the nomination and maybe she should just face reality.

Of course the same thing could be said for the entire country as my less than favorite columnist pointed out the other day:

We are not as powerful as we used to be because over the past three decades, the Asian values of our parents’ generation — work hard, study, save, invest, live within your means — have given way to subprime values: "You can have the American dream — a house — with no money down and no payments for two years."

Introduction
According to some commentators, it is a tradition for the winner to assist in "retiring the debt" of the loser. Others argue that it could form part of a reconciliation gesture, yet others disagree.  It’s time to dispel these rumors before they become a major concern.

If you read below, I will try to outline some of the issues and propose a solution which might be controversial for some, but may help to bring the party together for the election.

I have yet to see this topic discussed at great length, but Tim Russert twice floated the premise last night that part of any "negotiations" between the Obama and Clinton campaigns may include the repayment of her campaign debt. Further, in discussing the recent $6.4 million loan disclosure, Ben Smith follows with:

Though these are technically loans, these are very difficult to repay, as they must be paid from primary funds. There's some speculation this morning that Obama could help Clinton retire debt, possibly including the campaign's debt to her.

I have been a long-time Obama supporter and have gladly donated to his campaign on several occasions; however the idea that my (or any supporters) funds would be used to repay Senator Clinton’s Quixotic primary fight is quite disturbing.

Is there any historical precedent for this? It’s bad enough that she has forced Senator Obama to burn through millions of unnecessary dollars in the past few primaries, but this suggestion is ridiculous.

MSNBC has been floating the idea that Barack Obama may assume Hillary's campaign debt when he becomes the (presumptive) nominee.

As an Obama donor and supporter, when I initially heard this, I was quite shocked.

After some (admittedly brief) reflection, I don't think it's such a bad idea.

I have often thought to myself... "Rome, at its peak, only lasted for so many years... the U.S. won't be 'on top' forever."  And it appears W Bush has taken us to, and now, over the precipice.

The Federal Reserve, having demonstrated our entire unregulated financial system is based on nothing but thin air -- upon which the rich built fortunes on loans backed by loans that were backed by loans -- ‘saved’ the dominant, under-the-regulations paper giant Bear Sterns [International Herald-Tribune], while the rest of us appear to be spiraling into something akin to our Great Depression

If you are wondering why the stock market has been soaring when we have a credit crunch, job layoffs, a housing crisis among other negative factors, you are not alone.

But...maybe there is an explanation. I call it the boa constrictor economy.