Warning from exiting Senator

Financial Times interview, thanks to Irene, is below.


Just another sad warning of the inevitable. I suppose I enter these bits to show I am not a lone wolf, crying in a little, tiny beer from the Olde Saratoge Brewerye. It is easy to understand why no one would believe me straight up. 


I have a condo under a volcano, overlooking the former capital of Monsterrat and decided not to accept the offer to be first IS for Sprint in Toronto.  I have given away cars and a computer that are collector's items and told my dad, as a young poli sci kid, that a job in the State Department in Europe didn't seem interesting.  I can understand widespread concern. 


I am a bit sad, myself, as Greg Judd is probably the only person I named in this blog as a good candidate for President.  Maybe, running is his plan. 


All that said, I hereby declare myself a candidate for President or whatever.  I have a birth certificate from New York City with my name, place, and date of birth on it and the words:   Birth Certificate.   There are no other pages involved. This is the only qualification I need as someone who would not be running as a Democrat. On the downside, my father was a patriot whose work to keep us safe remains secret and my mother, who cared for her family, didn't pose in the nude, between education camps. 


Once I decide where I actually live, I will set up my campaign headquarters there.  I am not sure if one can do that from Chile. 


Then, I will have to start a national party, I suppose, to nominate me. Colin says I am not really a Federalist and he is probably right, but the name sounds good.  I think a Federalist today would look like a state rights person.  I liked the Whigs, but you can't call youself a wig. 


Following the European tradition, I could be a "Former Christian Democrat."  To run in California, I should be an "Actualized Buddhist Progressive." 


In the meantime, send checks to me, better yet, send silver. I am not a 501 (c) (3) corporation, and banning such things is one platform, so you can't deduct anything.  PLEASE don't tell the government you sent me silver coins or where to find me.


You have to go to the blog or click on the title to get to a video that works. 

US senator warns of ‘financial meltdown’ risk

By Edward Luce in Washington

Published: February 25 2010 22:30 | Last updated: February 25 2010 22:30

The US is heading for a debt-driven “financial meltdown” within five to seven years, according to Judd Gregg, the outgoing Republican senator for New Hampshire.

In a robust and at times testy video interview for the Financial Times’s View from DC series, Mr Gregg also complimented China for showing rising alarm about the US’s mounting levels of public debt.

“We have had China say that they are looking for other places to put their reserves and that is probably a smart decision on their part,” said Mr Gregg, who will not seek re-election in November. “So the warning signs are pretty clear and the path is unsustainable and, at this point, unless we take different actions, unavoidable.”

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Crisis panel to call back bank chiefs - Feb-25

In depth: Financial crisis inquiry commission - Jan-14

In depth: Obama and Wall Street - Feb-03

But the senator, who was the most high-profile Repub lican invited by Barack Obama, the president, to join his administration last year, an offer Mr Gregg accepted and then turned down, said he doubted that the two parties would get together to tackle it.

Last month 16 Republicans and 37 Democrats voted to establish a fiscal commission – seven votes short of what was needed to prevent a filibuster.

Mr Gregg also played down prospects for the non-statutory fiscal commission that Mr Obama set up by executive order last week. “It was just an edict that came from a Democratic president,” he said, adding, that “it’s the only game in town right now”.

Mr Gregg also disputed non-partisan economic studies that showed last year’s $787bn (€585bn, £520bn) stimulus cushioned the impact of the recession. “The facts are wrong,” he said. “I can understand how a Keynesian would make that argument. I find them absurd on their face....”

ETC ETC ETC.