Honestly, I’m having trouble coming up with the words to explain this one.  From the NYTimes:

GAZA — The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave.

Not satisfied merely with screwing the American public through shady no-bid contracts and sub-standard work, the NY Times reports that KBR, the former Halliburton Subsidiary connected to Vice President Dick Cheney, may be responsible for multiple deaths of American soldiers through faulty wiring.

That's the headline you may be reading in the coming weeks and months.

From Yahoo:

President Bush sent lawmakers a $70 billion request Friday to fund U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next spring, which would give the next president breathing room to make his or her own war policy.

Just as we would love Congress to spine-up and reject funding the war, the Administration throws in a marginally good thing.

From WaPo:

President Bush asked Congress yesterday to approve $770 million in new global food aid for the coming fiscal year, the centerpiece of an evolving administration response to a crisis that has sparked increased violence and hunger around the world.

In case you missed it, Jimmy Carter, the former President, wrote a great Op-Ed in the NY Times concerning his recent trip to meet with Syrian and Hamas leaders, and lamenting on diplomacy efforts.

Which begs the question: Does Jimmy Carter read my DailyKos diary?

There has been significant talk recently about former President Carter going to meet with Hamas to discuss a possible end to the violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  A representative from my own state has publicly asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to revoke Carter’s passport in response to his outreach mission.  Yes, that is exactly how it sounds.  Sue Myrick, a North Carolina Representative from the state’s 9th district, has asked the current Secretary of State to revoke the passport of a former president.

Just how childish is this approach?

I am not an economist.  I would like to state that first and foremost.  I’m more of a pragmatist.

There is certainly no doubt, despite public statements to the contrary, that the US economy is not doing well.  Some will tell you we are at risk of recession, while others will tell you that it’s a certainty, and rate cuts are merely delaying the inevitable.

The stock market has been on a rollercoaster course since before the end of last year.  Just last week, markets around the world were resting on the verge of collapse.  In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, US markets were closed on Monday.  That evening, while having dinner, I overheard a day trader at the bar quip, "If the markets were open today, it probably would have been an all new Black Monday."  And he was right.