What's even more extraordinary is that it's $700 billion, not $7 billion.

Though frankly, until the check is signed, it's just talk.

But if I understand correctly, the bailout is a loan and the gov't will not only get back what it gives it will get interest. And then on top of that they'll tax the businesses too.

Certainly Bono is not suggesting a "bailout" with interest-bearing loans and taxes for the world's poor, is he?

On the other hand, aren't high-risk loans exactly the business Yunus is in with Grameen?

I think Jesus said it best, "Where your treasure is, there your hearts will be also." (Matthew 6:21)
Bono is right--I think we are showing what means the most to us as a culture.

Senator McCain wasn't willing and chose deliberately not to show up for at least eight votes regarding alternative energy proposals in Congress, and yet he's most willing to suspend the presidential debate, the first one, so he can be in Congress to vote to bail out the CEOs and companies which have been profiteering at the expense of the American people. Of course, the American people have also been willing to allow our young and old sons and daughters to be killed in Iraq, because we must have our oil. Our country has lost a sense of repentance for our sins. I'd like to know what Senator Obama thinks about repentance and calling the nation to repentance.
The Rev. Edward R. Schreiber
Atonement Lutheran Church
Saugerties, NY 12477

MY HOLIDAY WITH JOHN McCAIN

It was just before John McCain’s last run at the presidential nomination in 2000 that my husband and I vacationed in Turtle Island in Fiji with John McCain, Cindy, and their children, including Bridget (their adopted Bangladeshi child).
It was not our intention, but it was our misfortune to be in close quarters with John McCain for almost a week, since Turtle Island has a small number of bungalows and their focus on communal meals force all vacationers who are there at the same time to get to know each other intimately.
He arrived at our first group meal and started reading quotes from a pile of William Faulkner books with a forest of Post-Its sticking out of them. As an English Literature major myself, my first thought was “if he likes this so much, why hasn't he memorized any of this yet?” I soon realized that McCain actually thought we had come on vacation to be a volunteer audience for his “readings” which then became a regular part of each meal. Out of politeness, none of the vacationers initially protested at this intrusion into their blissful holiday, but people’s buttons definitely got pushed as the readings continued day after day.
Unfortunately this was not his only contribution to our mealtime entertainment. He waxed on during one meal about how Indo-Chine women had the best figures and that our American corn-fed women just couldn't meet up to this standard. He also made it a point that all of us should stop Cindy from having dessert as her weight was too high and made a few comments to Amy, the 25 year old wife of the honeymooning couple from Nebraska that she should eat less as she needed to lose weight.
McCain’s appreciation of the beauty of Asian women was so great that David the American economist had to move his Thai wife to the other side of the table from McCain as McCain kept aggressively flirting with and touching her.
Needless to say I was irritated at his large ego and his rude behavior towards his wife and other women, but decided he must have some redeeming qualities as he had adopted a handicapped child from Bangladesh. I asked him about this one day, and his response was shocking: “Oh, that was Cindy’s idea – I didn't have anything to do with it. She just went and adopted this thing without even asking me. You can't imagine how people stare when I wheel this ugly, black thing around in a shopping cart in Arizona . No, it wasn't my idea at all.”
I actively avoided McCain after that, but unfortunately one day he engaged me in a political discussion which soon got us on the topic of the active US bombing of Iraq at that time. I was shocked when he said, “If I was in charge, I would nuke Iraq to teach them a lesson”. Given McCain’s personal experience with the horrors of war, I had expected a more balanced point of view. I commented on the tragic consequences of the nuclear attacks on Japan during WWII –- but no, he was not to be dissuaded. He went on to say that if it was up to him he would have dropped many more nuclear bombs on Japan. I rapidly extricated myself from this conversation as I could tell that his experience being tortured as a POW didn't seem to have mellowed out his perspective, but rather had made him more aggressive and vengeful towards the world.
My final encounter with McCain was on the morning that he was leaving Turtle Island. Amy and I were happily eating pancakes when McCain arrived and told Amy that she shouldn't be having pancakes because she needed to lose weight. Amy burst into tears at this abusive comment. I felt fiercely protective of Amy and immediately turned to McCain and told him to leave her alone. He became very angry and abusive towards me, and said, “Don't you know who I am.” I looked him in the face and said, “Yes, you are the biggest asshole I have ever met” and headed back to my cabin. I am happy to say that later that day when I arrived at lunch I was given a standing ovation by all the guests for having stood up to McCain’s bullying.
Although I have shared my McCain story informally with friends, this is the first time I am making this public. I almost did so in 2000, when McCain first announced his bid for the Republican nomination, but it soon became apparent that George Bush was the shoo-in candidate and so I did not act then. However, now that there is a very real possibility that McCain could be elected as our next president, I feel it is my duty as an American citizen to share this story. I can't imagine a more scary outcome for America than that this abusive, aggressive man should lead our nation. I have observed him in intimate surroundings as he really is, not how the media portrays him to be. If his attitudes toward women and his treatment of his own family are even a small indicator of his real personality, then I shudder to think what will happen to America were he to be elected as our President.
--
Mary-Kay Gamel
Professor of Classics, Comparative Literature, and Theater Arts
Cowell College
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California 95064

This story should be read by the entire country....thanks for posting it
blessings

Andy Pratt, musician

@ Rick: No, Grameen is not in the business of high-risk loans. They are in the business of loans to poor people, and the people to whom they loan money repay at a rate that would be the envy of any US bank. Theirs are non-traditional customers, but among the world's lowest-risk borrowers.

Where did Bono say that? Does anyone have a citation?

responding to Rick's comment...

1. "Certainly Bono is not suggesting a "bailout" with interest-bearing loans and taxes for the world's poor, is he?"
Rick, I suggest you look into what the IMF and World Bank do. Look at the websites, but also check out some work by Joseph Stiglitz. I think poor countries would be thrilled to only have interest bearing loans to worry about! Maybe, actually, the banks should have to go through similar "structural adjustments" that developing countries must submit to as conditionality to thier IMF and WB loans.

2.) "On the other hand, aren't high-risk loans exactly the business Yunus is in with Grameen?"
As was noted above too, the repayment on microloans in developing countires are in the high 90%. Look also at kiva.org, habitat for humanity home mortgages, and microlending in south america. these are virtually no risk.

I am not the author of the McCain vacation story. I have never been to Turtle Island. The author is (apparently) a woman named Anasuya Dubey, who lives in San Francisco.

Our country has lost a sense of repentance for our sins. I'd like to know what Senator Obama thinks about repentance and calling the nation to repentance.