in order to get the "Regana Democrats" and Independents who will be the difference in this race.

Simply take one of Reagan's most famous lines, and modify it to fit the length of a Senate term.

Ask everyone you encounter

Are you better off now than you were six years ago?

If the answer is yes, vote for George Felix Allen (and Republicans for the House) as a sign of your affirmation of the Bush administration.

But if you are not, and according to Paul Kurgman's piece in today's NY TImes, unless you own a large amount of stock and/or are a corporate top executive, in otherwords, for the other 96% of us. then you really should
- vote for Jim Webb
- vote for your Democratic candidate nominee for the House.

Oh, and vor you Republican lurkers here--  the fact that your salary has gone up does not mean you are better off than you were if in fact your expenses have gone up more quickly.  But then, if you are still supporting this administration and its lockstep supporters like Allen, you probably think the economic health of the vast majority doesn't matter anyhow, so you can ignore this comment.

ARE YOU BETTER OFF NOW THAN YOU WERE SIX YEARS AGO?

That question is about economics to be sure.  It is also about
- is the country on the right/wrong track?
- do you feel more or less secure about events in the world?
- do you worry about your job, or good-paying jobs for your children?

add your own additional concerns as you see fit.

Mr. Hoover is correct. The Bush deficits in the federal budget and trade imbalances are destroying America. The trade deficit, for example is not a reflection of "surplus over-savings" in, say, China; it not evidence of  real net foreign investment in America. It represents the selling off of American manufacturing base and the outsourcing of American jobs, and the loss of future income from those assets. 

We are consuming more than we are producing at the rate of over $2 billion per DAY, and we pay for this by living off our capital. That is a cardinal sin to any well brought-up little capitalist, who early in life is taught that you never touch the principal of your trust fund, you live off its interest--- otherwise you will sooner or later have no more trust fund and become, gasp! poor. America is living off the wealth  accumulated by our fathers and grandfathers, like spoiled trust fund brats... which, come to think of it, pretty well describes our current republican leadership, doesn't it?

I agree. In addition to this, it is worrisome that many people who drive nice cars and live in pretty houses really have no savings or economic net worth. It seems to me that much of the consumer spending and economic growth of the past five years has been financed through home equity loans in an era of low interest rates. That can't continue for very long. A serious economic down cycle coupled with inflation would cause a lot of pain now. It's scarey to think that we are ill-prepared to cope with natural economic cycles on a personal level. The Federal financial deficit makes it less likely that the government can do much about it either. It's not too late to change course, however. I believe that a good step in that direction is to erase the LEADERSHIP DEFICIT among our elected officials, by electing stronger individuals like Jim Webb, who can help restore a balance of powers in government rather than simply acting as a rubber stamp for failing policies of a deluded president.

Thanks to no money down and negative amortization loans, over 100 percent of loan to value, which are also adjustable rate the foreclosure rate on American homes is rising. We may not yet notice it in the Washington metro area, but it's beginning to hit hard elsewhere as interest rates rise and people who refinanced to pay for their conspicuous consumption cannot now make ends meet--- and have no home equity to fall back on. What to do? What to do? Pedal faster, invade another country, find some one new to blame. Voting the rascals out may not be an option if they arrange to steal the next one, too. On the other hand, maybe the repubs, having no solution for the messes they've created, will gladly surrender the messes over to Democrats--- so they can blame them when the messes all prove to be catastrophic.

becomes the routine method for control by elites from the Right, we're doomed. In that case, I might start thinking along similar lines as Thomas Jefferson when he wrote about how the Tree of Liberty must sometimes be watered. But I think we're still far from that point.

becomes the routine method for control by elites from the Right, we're doomed. In that case, I might start thinking along similar lines as Thomas Jefferson when he wrote about how the Tree of Liberty must sometimes be watered. But I think we're still far from that point.

immediately after the primary.  As good as the LTE may be, the Fredericksburg paper needs more people to submit LTEs.

Today's headlines in money news:

Dow's 2006 gain all but gone.
Record oil prices, Mideast violence, signs of a slowing economy are weighing down the market.

I can't think of anything that the Republican Congress and President have accomplished to make these things better; US foreign policy and lack of leadership appear to have made each of them worse.

An extraordinary documentary about the money handlers (changers)

http://www.themoneymasters.com

Every war, every assassina tion, every recession is controlled by the international bankers.  We are controlled by the Federal Reserve which is not U.S. federal.  This documentary is very well done.

They took property after the crash in 29 and it could happen again with the variable rate (ARM) mortgages.  People are mortgaging houses for more than they are worth, living outside of their means because of the 1.5% nonsense.  Have you noticed the increase in calls from lenders.  Harpers had a good article a couple months ago.  The cover had a guy carrying a giant house on his back.

If you want to understand the timeline of this country beginning with Jefferson and Hamilton get the dvd.  George Allen is no Jeffersonian, he is a Hamiltonian.  TJ fought the first fights for us when he opposed Hamilton (the Treasurer).  Just like we fight for the oil and water of Iraq, the world bankers have been sucking our wealth for a long time and they actually control it.

Stay out of unnecessary debit. 

George Allen likes to parrot quotes by Jefferson, but his tacit and active approval of expanded Presidential powers for the execution of the war on terror and in Iraq are really far from the Jeffersonian spirit. If I were a better student of history, I'd be willing to draw comparisons between the Patriot Act and the Alien and Sedition Act of Jefferson's era. Jefferson countered the Alien and Sedition Acts with the Kentucky Act of 1798, which raised power of the States in relation to Federal power. The Kentucky Act was an important document in the great debate over State's rights, giving rise to the concept of nullification of Federal law by the States. This was central to the Southern cause for the Civil War. Maybe THAT's why George Allen likes Jefferson!

Hamilton was instrumental in establishing the Treasury of the United States, and the champion of Federalism. The debt incurred by fielding an army for the War of Independence was one of the biggest challenges facing the new nation. Hamilton's policies enabled the country to have a more stable monetary system, to pay for a national military, etc. It also gave rise to the use of a national bank, the Bank of the United States, which eventually became powerful enough to allow unelected bankers to have a degree of control over the United States We need a Federal Reserve today for the many of the same reasons as in Hamilton's day, although we risk some of the same problems- the problem of power and control exclusivly in the hands of the wealthy few. THAT's what George Allen really represents!

Jim Webb identifies with "Jacksonian Democracy."  Jackson was (and is) a polarizing figure, but definitely stood for ordinary people- including those who were not property owners. Jackson believed that when the government took a stronger role in the economy, it made it easier for favored groups to win special privileges, which was bad for a government intended to represent the common man. When Jackson was elected in 1829, he worked to abolish the special relationship between the United States and the Bank of the US.

I think that when Jim Webb says he's a Jacksonian Democrat, he means that he wants to represent everyday working people in Virginia, and not just the ones with money. Allen likes to say that he represents ordinary folks- since he needs everyone's vote- but he is more devoted to protecting the interests of the wealthy. In fact, that is the BIG LIE of the whole Republican neo-conservative movement; while they claim to represent ordinary folks, they work mostly to protect the interests of big corporations and rich people.

I believe that Jim Webb is different, and we need his leadership in the Senate today.

Jackson killed the bank.  He almost lost his life for it.  His would-be assassin used two guns and they both misfired.  He was then arrested and got off.  He bragged about it later that he was paid by foreigners and also promised that if anything went wrong he would be protected. 

Jackson was proud that he killed the bank.  It set the foreign bankers back quite a few years. His proud words were I Killed The Bank!!  Lincoln stood up to them (wanted to keep using greenbacks) and Kennedy too.  see the dvd.  amazing stuff.  Follow the money. 

http://www.themoneymasters.com

If I'm not mistaken, Jackson's attacker was an unemployed house painter who said that he believed Jackson had conspired to keep him poor and unemployed. After the first shot, Jackson suprised the man; rather than retreating, the 69 year old Jackson moved toward the man to attack him with his cane. The attacker then attempted to shoot him with a second pistol, but it also misfire. The assailant spent the rest of his live in asylums, I believe. Jackson suspected that the Bank may have been complicit in the attack, but that has not been proven.

Nevertheless, there is no question that bankers have acted in their own self interest, and that many times this was at cross-purposes with the general welfare of the people.

He got off on "insanity" but did not spend his life in an asylum.  He got free.

There have actually been a flurry of Pro-Jim Webb letters in the Free-Lance Star. 

"Jim Webb has seen GOP deceit from inside"--July 12th

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/072006/07122006/204843

"Answer me this: What's George Allen done for you?"--July 11th

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/072006/07112006/203210

"Allenites gear up for a nasty Senate campaign"--July 10th (strangely this one isn't showing up in Google News searches anymore)

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/072006/07102006/204594

"If you liked Andy Jackson, you'll love Jim Webb's straight and sensible philosophy"--July 7th (from RK's own Teddy Goodson)

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/072006/07072006/204517

It's a sad statement that NoVA's "hometown" newspaper (The Washington Post) hasn't been giving this race nearly the same amount of exposure. 

In fact, following the July 4th festivities the Virginia metro section carried a story about parading politicians in Maryland and DC, but there was no coverage of the Fairfax parade attended by Webb (and 200+ supporters). 

I don't know if the Post Metro editors simply weren't contacted about the event, or if they were short-staffed, but the fact is that events in DC and Maryland received coverage in the Virginia metro section, while a Virginia event serving an identical purpose received zero coverage. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/04/AR2006070401120.html