Baltimore: If today’s action from the markets is any indication of what investors think about Uncle Sam and his Washington minions, the upcoming mid-term election is going to get interesting.

Nothing talks in Washington any louder than money.

Baltimore — (TFN): With a sick, pregnant wife, it is tough to get a good night’s sleep. Between the coughing, the sneezing, the nose blowing and the five-times-a-night bathroom visits, there’s not a lot of time for rapid eye movement.

That’s okay. It gives me plenty of time to stare at the ceiling and think.

Last night, on the heels of Obama’s speech, I had a lot on my mind. While talking about the military struggles in Afghanistan, the 11-month president looked very “Bushish.” Whether you find that a good quality or not, is up to you.

Resident voice of reason at The Daily Reckoning, Bill Bonner takes a hard look at Goldman Sachs and replaces jealousy with admiration.
“We pick up sword and shield, ready to fight for Goldman, after reading the Financial Times. The FT has devoted a whole page to Goldman bashing. It’s time someone stood up to say a kind word for the firm.”

All eyes and ears are on the Fed this week. With Bernanke in New York discussing potential new bubbles and the New York Fed getting heat for overpaying AIG’s many creditors, investors are having a tough time knowing exactly who to follow.

For those of you who hold up the “Fire the Fed” signs, move over. I am thinking about joining your camp.

Baltimore — (TFN): If politicians would get their heads out of their re-election campaigns, they would not have to make hasty, thoughtless decisions that cost you and I money.

In the days following Obama’s inauguration, Washington quickly passed a wide set of tax reforms. Part of the legislation included a $400 tax break for the country’s working class and increased healthcare funding for the country’s poor, unhealthy children thanks to increased taxes on the tobacco industry.

A rise in existing home sales last month shows things are getting better in the U.S. housing market, but the still-dire unemployment situation and the looming possibility of a jobless recovery may halt the rally by the end of the year. That makes the extension of an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers imperative.

Good news, Canadians – the president does not think you are scary. You have become a bit of a “bogeyman,” however, in regard to the growing din over U.S. healthcare reform. And a Canadian style government-run system wouldn’t fly in the United States.

James Dale Davidson’s latest special report, “The Plague of the Black Debt,” went live to Notes readers yesterday.

Does “stimulus” really work? Does quantitative easing work? The historical record suggests not. So what brought us out of the Great Depression? The answer might surprise, even though it shouldn’t…  A grumpy President Obama says that the $787 billion dollar stimulus package “has worked as intended.”

In the waning days of the Great Depression, FDR Signed the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 into law, heralding a new era of growth and prosperity for the nation’s heartland. While electricity was generally available in cities and towns, it was nearly unheard of on farms, ranches and other rural areas. The REA brought electric power to these sparsely populated Midwest farms and ranches. Today the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak.