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While Obama’s connection to his Muslim family in Kenya is an acceptable topic for discussion in the Arab world, it is viewed as a ‘great taboo’ in the United States.

Why is that so? This ‘taboo’ should be considered unfair at best, purely prejudiced at worst. Is it fair that we censor such discussions just because Obama’s relatives are ‘Muslim’?

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) should condemn the media for keeping a tight lid on the subject. Isn’t it time to go beyond what is disclosed by President Obama in his Dreams from My Father or Wikipedia’s limited information, which includes the only photo released by the Obama family?
We will cover only three of the closest Kenyan relatives to president Obama:

1. Sarah, Barack’s beloved and benevolent grandmother
2. Sayid Obama, his closest favorite uncle
3. Musa Ismail Obama, his first cousin and Sayid’s main sidekick.

After President Obama was inaugurated, the Muslim side of the Obama family in Kenya boomed; it went from rags to riches overnight. They became one of the most influential families in western Kenya and even extended their sphere of influence to Saudi Arabia. When Sarah, president Obama’s grandmother (step-grandmother), decided to go to the Hajj, an obligatory pilgrimage to Mecca with Musa, president Obama’s first cousin, they were welcomed with open arms and were provided a special escort with full security detail and first-class treatment at the Saudi royal court:

His Royal Highness Prince Mamdouh bin Abdul Aziz accompanied the family of U.S. President Barack Obama in his palace in Jeddah after the performance of the Hajj this year. The event was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Thamer bin Abdul Aziz, and His Royal Highness Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Mamdouh Bin Abdul Aziz, and his HRH Prince Abdullah bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, and a number of other princes and officials.

The reason for such treatment—as explained in an exclusive interview with Musa Ismail Obama on Al-Jazeera—is that a close relationship was built with Saudi royals. Like president Obama’s call for education in the United States, the Kenyan Obamas embarked on a similar project.

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“The current models for determining U.S. unemployment are so flawed, and have been so manipulated by politicians of both parties over the decades, that some key indicators are “absolutely bogus” and no longer reflect the economic realities of ordinary Americans, according to private-sector economic analyst Walter J. “John” Williams.”

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David Siegel of Westgate Resorts will not be able to afford new taxes. One has to ask how many companies face this dilemma ?

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“The Federal Reserve signaled it’s moving toward linking its outlook for near-zero interest rates to specific economic conditions such as a decline in the unemployment rate.

The move would represent a shift from the Fed’s policy of tying low rates to the calendar. At its last meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee extended its time horizon at least through the middle of 2015 from late 2014, a decision that some policy makers said could be misinterpreted as a downgrade of their economic outlook, according to minutes of the Sept. 12-13 gathering.

“The benefit of some numerical guidelines or thresholds would be that people would really understand their intention of keeping rates low,” said James Hamilton, a professor of economics at the University of California at San Diego whose research on the effectiveness of alternative policy tools has been cited in Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s speeches.”

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Not convinced that Mitt Romney’s victory has something to do with today’s rally?

Here’s a fun chart.

If you care to know who won last night’s debate…well the cake goes to Romney. The question is will he keep the momentum going ?

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Link to the data here.

Party like it’s 1980!

Bewildered and lost without his teleprompter, President Obama flailed all around the debate stage last night. He was stuttering, nervous and petulant. It was like he had been called in front of the principal after goofing around for four years and blowing off all his homework.

Not since Jimmy Carter faced Ronald Reagan has the U.S. presidency been so embarrassingly represented in public. Actually, that’s an insult to Jimmy Carter.

10.31 pm. Look: you know how much I love the guy, and you know how much of a high information viewer I am, and I can see the logic of some of Obama’s meandering, weak, professorial arguments. But this was a disaster for the president for the key people he needs to reach, and his effete, wonkish lectures may have jolted a lot of independents into giving Romney a second look.

Obama looked tired, even bored; he kept looking down; he had no crisp statements of passion or argument; he wasn’t there. He was entirely defensive, which may have been the strategy. But it was the wrong strategy. At the wrong moment.

The person with authority on that stage was Romney – offered it by one of the lamest moderators ever, and seized with relish. This was Romney the salesman. And my gut tells me he sold a few voters on a change tonight. It’s beyond depressing. But it’s true.

There are two more debates left. I have experienced many times the feeling that Obama just isn’t in it, that he’s on the ropes and not fighting back, and then he pulls it out. He got a little better over time tonight. But he pulled every punch. Maybe the next two will undo some of the damage. But I have to say I think it was extensive.

Read the rest here.

“Tonight wasn’t an MSNBC debate tonight, was it?” Chris Matthews said after the first Obama-Romney presidential debate concluded on Wednesday night.

“I don’t know what he was doing out there. He had his head down, he was enduring the debate rather than fighting it. Romney, on the other hand, came in with a campaign. He had a plan, he was going to dominate the time, he was going to be aggressive, he was going to push the moderator around, which he did effectively, he was going to relish the evening, enjoying it,” Matthews said.

“Here’s my question for Obama: I know he likes saying he doesn’t watch cable television but maybe he should start. Maybe he should start. I don’t know how he let Romney get away with the crap he throughout tonight about Social Security,” Matthews complained.

Matthews then demanded that President Obama start watching cable news, specifically his program.

Read the rest here.

Mitt Romney controlled the flow of the debate during its first segment. He framed the discussion of the economy and taxes by laying out what he called a five-point plan to fix the economy. He same up with a clever line by accusing Obama of favoring “trickle-down government.” He also took the offensive by claiming that Obama and other critics are wrong when they accuse him of proposing tax cuts for the rich.

“Virtually everything he said about my tax plan is inaccurate,” Romney said.

Obama found himself on the defensive. He also found himself noting areas where he agrees with Romney, such as small business tax cuts and increased domestic energy production.

Read the rest of Rick Dunham’s debate commentary as recorded in real time, here.

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney took the offensive in the first presidential debate Wednesday night, forcing President Obama to defend his record in a series of sharp exchanges in which Romney charged that the President’s economic policies have “crushed” the middle class.

Appearing more vigorous than he often is on the campaign trail, Romney painted Obama’s first term as a time of rising poverty, slowing economic growth and struggle for millions of Americans. He pushed his own plans to lower taxes and bring down the federal deficit, saying his approach would revive the sputtering economy.

“Gasoline prices have doubled under the president. Electric rates are up. Food prices are up,’’ Rommey said. “Health-care costs have gone up by $2,500 a family. Middle-income families are being crushed.’’

“Look at the evidence of the last four years. It’s absolutely extraordinary,’’ he said. “We’ve got 23 million people out of work or stopped looking for work in this country … economic growth this year slower than last year, and last year slower than the year before.’’

“Going forward with the status quo is not going to cut it for the American people who are struggling today,’’ the former Massachusetts governor said, prompting a frown from Obama.

Read the rest here.

(Reuters) – An aggressive Mitt Romney took the fight to President Barack Obama on Wednesday and the Republican candidate appeared to breathe new life into his struggling campaign with a solid performance at their first debate.

As polls showed Obama with a slight edge among voters, Romney was on the offensive throughout the 90-minute encounter between the two rivals at the University of Denver.

The two men, standing side-by-side for the first time after months of brutal campaign attacks hurled at each other, clashed over taxes, healthcare and the role of government, reflecting the deep ideological divide in Washington.

Appearing poised and well-prepared, Romney zeroed in on weak economic growth and 8.1 percent unemployment that has left Obama vulnerable in his effort to win a second four-year term.

Read the rest here.

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Oh my bad, pure is not what we strive for….

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“Having observed what high-frequency trading has done to U.S. markets, foreign governments are doing what American officials have avoided: regulate.

In traditional stock trading, a buyer, through a broker, purchases shares in a stock with the hope that over time they will grow in value. In high-frequency trading, institutional investors use computerized programs to buy stocks and then sell them within hours, minutes or even seconds, taking advantage of slight fluctuations in value.

On May 6, 2010, U.S. markets were disrupted by a “flash crash” that sent the Dow Jones average plummeting more than 600 points in a matter of minutes, before coming back again almost as quickly. On August 1 of this year, The Knight Capital Group lost $440 million in 45 minutes as a result of a computer glitch and sent the trading firm to the brink of bankruptcy.”

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“President Francois Hollande’s first annual budget raised taxes on the rich and big companies and included a minimum of spending cuts to reduce the deficit.

The 2013 blueprint relies on 20 billion euros ($26 billion) in tax increases, including a levy of 75 percent on incomes over 1 million euros, and eliminating limits on the wealth tax. Hollande aims to reduce spending by 10 billion euros, bringing the deficit to 3 percent of output from 4.5 percent in 2012. The budget predicts growth of 0.8 percent.”

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There will be austerity…and those who oppose it.

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