I think a lot of the things we've seen in the stock market have nothign to do with market factors like supply and demand, but rampant speculation.

Look at gas prices due to the hurricane. I saw one company push their gas from $3.63 to $5.48 in one day. ONE DAY.  They didn't get a gas delivery that day; supply did not go down so low that they figured they had to hold out for months on this one shipment.  Nobody made a run on the gas station with that kind of price, so it couldn't have been demand!  People were saying the wholesalers were bumping their prices, so the gas stations had to bump their's.  I call shenanigans.  If they had to buy more gas, RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT, then yes, upping the price makes sense. 

But it has nothing to do with that.  It is merely people panicing, and the media flooding the market with this information that makes other people panic.  Take the recent House vote on the proposed Bailout bill.  Did people need to know if it was passed or not? Yes.  Did people need to know who voted yes and who voted no?  Yes.  Did they need to know it all in real time, as it unfolded and try to buy and sell stocks based on that information?  NO!

In this age of informaiton, too many people are quick to look at every peice of 'news' that someone posts on the internet or on TV and accept it as fact, and to take instant gratification from it, rather than taking the time to digest it.  Information is power, but too much information is worse than none with the way people are acting these days.

The upcomming vice presidential debates are a toal waste of time.  Both Biden and Pailin will try to paint themselves as "regular people" while simultaneously saying they have the most experience.  This so called "Troopergate" will come up certainly, and the same things will be said about it as have been said already. 

Really, why don't they just put out some fact sheets about the candidates?  What does anyone really know about Joe Biden?  What does it really matter how long he's been in the senate?  What people really want to know is "what do you bring to the campaign?"  And the answer is, nothing.  Really, nobody actually cares what the credentials are of the person on the vice president, because the president doesn't really do very much.  They're our face to the world, so a good image is really all that matters unless they plan to veto a bill.  All they do is make recommendations.  Congress is where the power is, and nobody ever points the finger at the Congress.

Check out this website:

factcheck.org

This gives you a lot of information about both candidates.  Of course, it makes both of them liars or both of them not knowing what they're talking about, but as soon as you said "politician" you pretty much covered that.  Take the time to read up about the issues, see what's true about these adds.  Don't let the media vote for you, get out there and see which candidate really stands for what you believe in.

When did we become a nation of such entitlement?  People complain if their taxes are going up, or if someone even talks about taxes going up.  They're "entitled" to their money.  They worked hard and earned it.  Nevermind that their fathers and forefathers did the same thing, and paid their taxes without complaint.  Why did we elect a president who wants to give healthcare for everyone?  Why are we going to pay people's mortgages when they incured the debt, instead of letting them go through bankruptcy?  The administration keeps talking about fairness, and making sure everyone is taken care of more fairly, but how is it fair to give people something when no one before them got that benefit?  People need to accept responsibility for the circumstances they find themselves in and look for ways to improve it themselves, with friends and with family, churches, etc. instead of relying on government?