CRASH

Let's call a spade a spade.

This market is all but wiped out, as is the US economy. We'll be lucky if we're not invaded by a foreign power.

We've had a president in office for the past 6 1/2 years - and for the most part, a compliant Congress of his party - who's done everything in his power to dismantle the social fabric and the constitution and spend and borrow every last dime of our nation's wealth.

The policies of George W. Bush and the lack of regulation and oversight of the administration and congress have put the nation on the precipice of capitulation. Our financial system is about to implode under the weight of bad loans made right under the eyes of our elected and non-elected officials. The former and current Secretaries of the Treasury and Chairmen of the Fed, Alan Greenspan and Bernanke, are the main delinquents. The current holders of those offices should be immediately relieved of their duties and the president should be impeached. They have failed us miserably and probably engaged in criminal activity. At least in the President, Vice President and Attorney General's case, we are sure that they did.

Those who do not agree should take account. Our bridges and roads are crumbling, we spend billions a month in a war effort that has produced no tangible result except death and destruction, and now our financial institutions are under siege.

If that's not enough, maybe you'd prefer to wait until some of the banks fail or we go to war with Iran or the president declares martial law. Maybe then you'll wake up from your stupidity-induced stupor and see what liberals and progressives have been screaming about.

Or maybe you're content watching and believing in whatever lies they tell you on FOX News. In that case, go ahead and stick your head in the sand. The real intellectual forces of this country have no use for you and your kind.

Dow 13,270.68 -387.18; NASDAQ 2,556.49 -56.49; S&P 500 1,453.09 -44.40; NYSE Composite 9,449.31 -296.89

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 380 points today. That's one hefty loss. The other indices followed and it's very likely that the losses would have been larger had not the PPT (Plunge Protection Team, aka the President's Working Group on Financial Markets) been stepping in to stem losses.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bush is heading out of town for a 3 week vacation, but he made sure to mention, before he left, that taxes on corporations should be lowered. After all, Bush made the tax system safe for millionaires and billionaires, why not multi-national corporations who have little to no allegiance to the United States of America?

More ill-advised policy. Just what we need.

Market internals were not as bad as one would expect. Declining issues outpaced advancers by a 15-6 margin. There were 197 new highs, but 606 new lows.

Oil futures closed down 56 cents, to $71.59. Gold and silver were absolutely shattered, with gold off $13.50 and silver down 47 cents. A buying opportunity.

By the way, if you think today was bad, it was only the 2nd worst day of the year, and there's more downside ahead - a lot more.

The Dow, S&P and NASDAQ are all still positive for the year, but one gets the felling that it's a temporary condition. The Dow closed 2006 at 12,463. We're getting closer.